I surely hope they are taping the whole tour (US & Europe) and release it as a best of Blu-Ray/DVD.
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I surely hope they are taping the whole tour (US & Europe) and release it as a best of Blu-Ray/DVD.
With their set up, the cameras are there, so they should theoretically be able to record it all. Would just be a question in investing in that recording and doing the post.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kutman
As in the only chance to hear that song?Quote:
Originally Posted by Teejay
Nah, you should be able to order it here: https://www.hhv.de/en/records/item/s...55a9ece462fba6Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaolinmonk
They ship to NL.
*please delete me*
I was at the Vienna show, and here’s my take:
Attendance: roughly 70% of the arena.
Sound: awful. Method Man and Ghostface even pointed it out during the show.
Repertoire: refreshing, with additions like Holla, No Said Date, and Sunlight from the 8 Diagrams album, which opens the concerts.
YDB is just trash. They should have brought Cappadonna, who is still vocally fit to perform at an arena level. I was glad to see Street Life performing again. GZA can’t control his breath anymore, but he looks healthy, and I wish him all the best.
Havoc is a special guest for the entire tour. I think he’s had trouble getting gigs since Prodigy died, so I’m happy to see him performing at this level.
Out of all Wu concerts I have been to, this one seemed most cashgrab-ish. Aside from the tickets not being cheap (and the arena not being full, by the way), they even had three intermissions promoting RZA’s movie, Rae’s documentary, and an upcoming video game.
Thanks. You made me think about some things.Quote:
Originally Posted by SL33
In the media this was covered by even things like the Dutch equivalent of the Financial Times and it all stresses that this was the last show. If indeed this was, this was quite the let down.
Loved it when Ghost did Holla. Was quite surprised to see RZA open with Sunlight, to cut himself off and say 'that is not what you are here for, you are here for the clan', or something of the sorts. Masta Killa flipped the No Said Date chorus to hiphop and something else, and it worked. The man gave a lot of energy. Which also goes for U-God. Controlling a crowd that was actually not to eager to give him love, except when he they did Gravel Pit. Which was of course their biggest hit in Europe. Though if you have every-fucking-body there, maybe do more than just one-single verse. Though Meth showed interaction and back up with people, he was not there for this song with his verse, neither was Ghost.
That being said for Gravel Pit, Meth is a top performer. He clearly works out and has the stamina to run a show the whole evening. Still has a great chemistry with Sttreet, and is always there to back up his brothers. Being the oldest is not directly an excuse but GZA, for some time now already, does not seem to have the stamina of breath control to keep up with his lyrics on this stage. With his solo shows he seems to manager. But here he was delivering in a way to clearly compensate for that fact. Coming back to Masta Killa, he still seems to have the control, but chooses to do a lot of stuff off beat.
The stage is nice, but it is nowhere near epic. If you approach it from a cashgrab angle, they have show big screens to show, and it all looks flashy. We put Stone Mecca in he middle, and do our 5 year repertoire in acts, with intermissions that are filled with trailers.
Seems like the first act is the only one that sort of properly excutes and songs get done almost in full. (Ghost did not do his Chessboxin verse.) And that is just 36 Chambers songs they have of course been playing for the last 30+ years. The second act is nice but it felt kind of butchered with intros to songs and no real song. No Release Yo Delf? Come on Meth. Criminology was plagued by the poor sound and failed in execution. Likewise for the follow ups with Havoc. Ghost also does not seem to know how to perform and it felt to me like he resorted to stuff that would get you by 25 years ago.
The third act was more diverse, but it felt like a mixed bag. Some stuff that was just left over. It had Gravel Pit & Fourth Chamber for example. You'd think 4th would be incredible, it was not. During Can It Be only the band was on stage while the music played on and you could hear the ad-libs. Pretty sure that was not supposed to go down like that. But this was followed up by a Power tribute, which must have been fucking heavy for all of them. I feel for them in that sense, and can understand if this was not within you the show must go on repertoire for that moment with the pictures of him on the screen.
The last act was circling back to the Clan again with Reunited and closing with Triumph. They threw Severe Punishment in there, with a very hyped U-God, only to have one verse. I started wondering, how long has YDB been performing now with the Clan? Is this longer than they ever performed with his dad?
The stage is nice. Big screen at the back. Three other screen to form a temple entrance. Stone Mecca with Math in the middle. Drumcomputer for RZA also on there. The things is, it did not much else but just that, add visual flair. Sure there was some cool shots of some black & white material on there tthat I am unfamiliar with. And they recut & VJed with some music video images during the songs to great effect. The temple thing did not add much in my opinion. I remember thinking during that Rainy Dayz intro, what would it cost to make it rain on stage. Likewise it was only during Duel Of The Iron Mic that I noticed the lights adding some dimension to the song, which I though would continue into 4th Chamber & the stage, but it did not. (Can you image the whole stage becoming a battlefield for 4th chamber with something akin to Fury Road playing a live electric guitar for the song.) Even having height differences and elevating the mc's to certain parts during something like Triumph would go a long way.
Clocking in at just 2 hours, and at a EUR +/- 100 price, this was a bit of a let down. A group of this size could have easily covered 2,5 hours in my opinion. That is not even taken into account that this is supposed to be their last show as a group. Because if we talk about that, you might want to cover some more cuts from post Forever? Maybe even incorporate that name, Final Chamber, into the design of the stage and the set itself? And it is completely outrageous that they did not secure the proper sound. Or is this that famous Wu-Surround Sound RZA was talking about. lol. Oyeah, you might notice I did not talk about RZA, the ringleader of the show, who never fails to share some of his pseudo-philosophy with the crowd. Less yapping, more rapping.
So yes there is a severe aftertaste of cashgrabbing, and the foul odour of poor audio tainting this show sadly. I hope the latter does get addressed fast for the sake of the other people dropping money. Who are the same people coming there to see them together. And it would be nice to see them do more stuff together, and not let people fire off a single verse. In that case why not just create a proper medley with the band and the DJ.
Last thing, I feel for those 20 kids without any pit. Going to these things used to mean a pit, and seeing familiar faces. People you'd only know from the scene. Well atleast it was so in The Netherlands.
Great review. Co sign 100%.
For the context, Nas and Premier did 2.5 hours of non stop music and Nas did not have back vocals or a hype man or any sort. Their venues were basketball arenas with capacity up to 5000 people.
A random guy even told me the Wu charged 300 eur for the seating positions. I am not sure if that is true though.
Edit: oh and the AI effects in the back are cheap.
Hasn't Cappadonna got passport issues I think I read somewhere so can't play the euro dates?Quote:
Originally Posted by SL33
I do not know.
I was at his show back in November 2024. Something must have happened in the meantime.
It seems that attendance at the other concerts was higher than at the Vienna one.
https://ibb.co/5XDn4VV3
https://ibb.co/MDYYXD8X
Bologna was packed
I really enjoyed the Manchester show last night and it seems to have good reviews across the board online. All members showed up thankfully (apart from Cappadonna who I heard can't leave US due to unpaid tax issues). I'd break the show down as follows:
Good - Just a really good performance overall, all the hits and then some and all the clan members really showed up with their performances. It really felt like a show also with the screens, backing band, intermissions etc. The tribute section to hip hop artists who had passed was a nice addition. The crowd nearly blew the roof off the building when Shook Ones PT2 started.
Bad - The sound sounded off at times and it was difficult to hear what track was being played. Also I thought there might be a few more obscure tracks in the set, but Sunlight, Above The Clouds, and Grid Iron Rap were the only surprises for me really.
Overall I thought it was a really good send off if this is their last group tour. I can only hope I'm as energetic as RZA and Meth were last night when I'm their age 9:|6
Set list as follows - https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/wutan...d-34e31c7.html
- Act 1
Sunlight
Bring da Ruckus
Clan in da Front
Da Mystery of Chessboxin'
Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing ta F' Wit
Method Man
Protect Ya Neck
- Act 2
Rainy Dayz
Criminology
Incarcerated Scarfaces
Survival of the Fittest
Eye for an Eye (Your Beef Is Mines)
Shook Ones (Part II)
Quiet Storm (Remix)
Ice Cream
Release Yo' Delf
Grid Iron Rap
Bring the Pain
All I Need
- Act 3
Liquid Swords
Duel of the Iron Mic
Gravel Pit
4th Chamber
Severe Punishment
No Said Date
Above the Clouds
Tearz
The Way We Were
- Act 4
Reunited
It's Yourz
Shimmy Shimmy Ya
Got Your Money
C.R.E.A.M.
Triumph
Have always heard that Cappadonna is the best live performer, even better than Method Man, is that true?
I remember once he did his Winter Warz verse over the Who Shot Ya beat and it sounded crazyQuote:
Originally Posted by David Daniel Davis