Words By: Adamandia Coumbos
Photos By: Vanessa Krystin Wong
Tuesday February 19, 2013 – Young or old or fat or skinny, the hipsters the gangsters, even the hippies — it seemed like people from all corners of Vancouver came out to take a Bizarre Ride
with Imani & Bootie Brown of The Pharcyde.
Opening the show were locals A-Ro and Evil Ebenezer. Despite his early timeslot A-Ro did a great job keeping the crowd engaged. With tracks like Seasons Go, he had the crowd bobbing their heads and chanting along to the chorus of his songs for the majority of his set.
Evil Ebenezer kept the momentum going with songs like Wake Up, and Lovin Life and by the end of his set he had the whole of Fortune (Sound Club) eagerly awaiting The Pharcyde.
Now, never have I ever heard Vancouver referred to as the “Couvy Couv,” but coming from Imani and Bootie Brown I guess having our own special nickname from them is kind of awesome.
These guys danced onto the stage, opening up their set with high-energy songs like Ya Mama and Oh Shit. The enthusiasm that dripped from these guys (like the sweat off their foreheads) could be felt all the way to the back of the club. They played all of their classics like She Said, Drop, Runnin’ and Passin’ Me By,(realistically though, seeing as how The Pharcyde has been around since the early 90’s most of their tracks can probably be considered classic anyways).Imani and Bootie Brown managed not only to entertain but they kept the (generally quite passive) crowd involved and on their feet, encouraging them to chant and sing
along to every song.
My only qualm was that the crowd started dispersing early. A lot of people trickled
out towards the end of the show and most people left right away, missing the encore
entirely. Bad news for them but it was great for me and the 25 other people who
stayed to hear Knew U in a much less crowded, more intimate setting.
Seeing how Imani and Bootie Brown feed off each other when they put on a show
really makes me wish I could have seen The Pharcyde back before they split. Aside
from having a set filled with classic hip-hop anthems of the 90’s, the showmanship
these guys have is amazing. Funny and playful Imani and Bootie Brown are comedic
in their approach to performing, and they kept the crowd engaged the entire time.
The years they spent as dancers is evident; their timing and rhythm is flawless.
From start to finish they put 110% of their energy into their show. And for two
dudes over 40 I found that pretty damn impressive.
LINKS:
Adamandia & Vanessa appear courtesy of A F T R – D R K