Words & Shots by: Brendan Lee
Saturday, June 29 2014 – The Wutang brand has overshadowed the actual music of the Wu- Tang Clan itself. In fact, you probably couldn’t go a day walking through Vancouver streets without seeing at least one person rocking a Wutang shirt or some other irrelevant article of clothing with the Wu brand on it. That being said, the mighty Wu are probably the most prolific hip hop group of all time and still indeed nothin’ to fuck with. Last Saturday Wu- Tang Clan fans and Wutang brand fans gathered alike to see the legendary group perform live for its first time ever as a full unit with all its live members – minus Methodman whom apparently had more important obligations for the night.
Despite the absence of arguably its most beloved member, the rest of the Clan wasted no time bringin’ da ruckus with classic joints from its first album Enter the 36 Chambers, which this tour was in celebration of its 20th anniversary. Their performance was awkward at times and somewhat unpolished but what else would you expect from one of the most raw and grimy groups to spawn from early 90s hip hop culture. It had the feel of a golden era rap show in a small sweatbox in Brooklyn that would have definitely met the approval of fallen member Ol’ Dirty Bastard. The sound was horrendous at times but the rhymes were always on point – a fair trade, I guess.
Highlights of the show, other than the “holy shit it’s the fuckin wutang clan” factor, included Ghostface Killah taking the role of lighting master, urging the lights to be dimmed and changed to different colours to set the tone; Raekwon making jokes at crowd members between songs, reminiscent of the group’s classic skits; and a tribute to ODB where RZA and other members rapped along to Shimmy Shimmy Ya. Check the pics below and protect ya neck, kid.
