Ahhhh. relaxing after a wonderful and entertaining weekend in chicago. got to do some shopping, found lots of good sales. got a couple new pairs of shoesies, which i am very excited about, checked into my hotel, which was entertainment in itself, something like out of a palahniuk read, twisted, real, and not something in which the mainstream recognizes. There was a plexiglass mirror over my bed, and an old 80s poster that you might also find in a nail salon, that reads "
ECSTASY" in cursive underneath an outline of a silhouetted woman holding a rose. there was gum stuck in the red carpet, the rust colored paint extended past the trim to the ceiling. cigarette burns in the comforter, one large, but multiple, reminding how many people have been in and out of this bed. uck, i found a mission, which was to find an alternate sleeping situation. so i hid my things in the shower, which i later found out only gave a drip wash when turned on full blast, making for the ideal whores bath. hehe. anyhow, i put on my black tights, and short black heels and took off to go witness a meet-up, with the mighty mos, and the supervillian in flesh, DOOM.
after waiting outside, in the cold of a winter night in chicago for about a a half hour, i make it inside, much after the time promoted as the
start of the show. I find a dj on stage, not mos defs, not dooms. lucky me i haven't missed anything. and so i find my way to the spot i feel will be best, and wait, and then for the next 5 hours, im experiencing the opening acts to the headliners. BBU, a hip hop trio from chicago, comical, but def. not vibing on the level the crowd was coming with, so they eventually are booed to their last song. then comes Mike Relm, a cat from San Francisco. He starts spinning and has video edited simultaneous to the music, it was quite entertaining, but still the crowd was to ready for the mellow, retrospect they would find themselves in when the headliners arrived. Finally 130 am rolls around, and mos def hits the stage, everyone gets thier second wind and is hyped. Mos brought a very lyrical set through, and stuck with newer stuff. Some people were bummed about that, but in my opinion, they are listening to a man who is ahead of his circumstance, an artist who is inspiring progress, and i think this is very clear in his music. Hes tackling the now, hes writing music about the current things hes experiencing. Would it be more meaningful if he was always reflecting when he performed. go home. listen to that cd when you want to go there. and then its over, mos def leaves the stage as Doom's hype man enters, and then here we all are, that things weve all stood for HOURS waiting for is happening, but suddenly a feeling of angst sweeps, and everyone is paying very close attention to the performance of the alleged mf doom. I know, i cant take my eyes off of the microphone, and the mouth behind it, and the hype men are hyping, and the speakers are filled with their heavy breathing, but for some reason, mf doom barely is taking breaths between words, "its amazing, he sounds just like his album", i say to myself sarcastically, as i switch my vision to the dj behind him, who is obviously pretending to spin. From here, i look at the foreign beauty next to me, and ask, " where is it from here?" im not as disappointed as i thought i would have been, mos def really did it for me, and it gave me more time to enjoy chicago, on a cold winter night, for what it really is. en amour avec le monde.
