Bumbershoot was awesome. Actually, I can’t speak for the entire span of the event, but the five hours we spent at the Seattle Center were great. We went for the Nas performance, and he definitely didn’t disappoint.
I’ve never seen a real concert. Never before have I stood with a packed crowd in front of a stage. Never have I smelled so much weed in a public area–or anywhere for that matter. People pushed their way through the crowd the entire time, and some got pushed back hard. A couple that pushed their way next to us was completely wasted. The guy was truly in his own world, but he was still responding to the music. It was nuts. Two girls were dancing on each other, and I turned around once and saw Glenn dancing with them. That was nuts too. And then there was another crazy wasted girl walking through the crowd that fell over and had me and Chris push her back up. All sorts of people had bags of reefer on them. I couldn’t believe some of the things I saw, but it was a good concert experience.
A local rapper named Byrdie was performing when we arrived, after walking the three-mile route, at the main stage. While he finished his set, we tried to slither our way through the crowd. I’d say we were pretty successful, but we went a bit too far and I was stuck behind Manute Bol for a good half hour. After getting situated, Massive Monkees performed.
Seeing the dancers is usually important for enjoying a dance performance. I really wish I could see the stage better, because what I saw was really unbelievable. They only did three or four songs, but the crowd really enjoyed themselves. When they were done, we were left to listen to beats during a pretty long changeover. Finally, Public Enemy came out.
Chuck D and Flava Flave really got the crowd into it. I’m not a fan so I didn’t recognize the songs, but it was cool to take part in all the hand raising and yelling. Our group went nuts when He Got Game came on. It has nothing to do with anything, but Flave’s clock was diamond-studded. I could have done without the political opinions of Chuck D, but that’s what Public Enemy is about so I understand. Their set was really long, but it probably only seemed that way because Nas was next. Oddly, some people turned around and started leaving the stadium when Public Enemy was done. The changeover was probably twenty minutes, but Nas finally came out.
For two minutes, I just thought the crowd was yelling for Nas’s introduction. On my tiptoes, I realized he was already performing. It’s hard to describe how good it was. I’m glad my first concert headlined Nas, especially since I’ve been listening to him for the past few weeks. From what I remember, and I’m sure there are some I missed, he performed parts of New York State of Mind, One Mic, One Love, Got Yourself a Gun, If I Ruled the World, Oochie Wally, I Know I Can, and Nas is Like. He also performed the first verse of Ether. That was definitely a crowd pleaser. Along with Ether, I think If I Ruled the World got the best crowd reaction. My personal favorite was One Mic. Unfortunately, my hopes of a Life’s a Bitch performance were useless. Looking back, though, I realize that AZ’s verse is what I really enjoy from the song. Either way, Nas got a few thousand Seattleites excited and moving their bodies for an hour. Nas was awesome.
Oh, and never before have I been hit in the face by a roll of toilet paper and still enjoyed myself.