REVIEW: Public Enemy Live
Public Enemy. For many, the most important rap group ever. Innovative beats, pioneering scratches, socially-conscious lyrics, and two of the most respected front-men ever. It’s said that Public Enemy were the first rap-group to tour outside of the US, setting the foundations for the word-wide hip-hop domination.
Wednesday, October 4th 2006. Public Enemy play Liverpool for the first time in their 25 year history. The following documents the events witnessed in the Liverpool Carling Academy that night.
Things kicked off with the No Fakin DJs � a truly top notch performance on the decks from Kwinzola and the boys. Choice tunes spanning the genres, incredible cuts and scratches- all ruined by a pair of chancing Scouse MCs. Truly, they were rubbish. Never mind the DJs, facing the hopeless task of making them sound good with their tired, basic rhymes and sloppy timing, I for one felt slightly embarrassed when Flavor Flav himself sauntered up to the top bar, money-clip in hand and honey in tow. Was this really the best North West England can show to support the mighty P.E.? Still, there�s nothing like eating out of bins to make a steak taste all the more delicious.
Two hours on, and the room was thick with tangible expectation and, after the most entertaining sound check I�ve ever seen, a barrage of Public Enemy samples (Don’t believe the hype / Bass! / Yeeeah, bwooy / The rhythm, the rebel- you know �em), complete with full band, Chuck D. and Professor Griff bounced on stage and the place detonated.
Chuck�s first words, “Liverpool, welcome to the Terrordome!” had Liverpool Academy justly in the palm of hip-hop�s first supergroup�s hand.
Catching most off guard, the band segued into slow, riff-heavy mosh-hop (think Ministry�s �Scarecrow� with rapping instead of distorted sneers). Already, Public Enemy were exhibiting the slick, professional live act only 25 years in the game delivers.
Flavor Flav pogoed onstage, got straight into spitting and got the best reception of the night.
This is why Public Enemy have been around since the beginning and are still going strong: Chuck D. and Flavor Flav in full flow are simply incredible to behold. Chuck, as tight as a metronome, and Flavor lyrically bouncing off his concrete rhymes. Backed up by a first-rate live band, the sonic onslaught was as mesmerising as it was brutal.
And as for the band? Well, far from contracted session musicians, the P.E. band was a collection of truly gifted individuals. Perpetuating the sense of professionalism, each was given a true rock and roll intro and a chance to show off their chosen instrument individually. Most notable was DJ Lord, a DMC challenger on the turntables, who was exceptionally skilful in shredding the wax. Special mention also for the geezer on guitar: from Purple Haze to sublime technical solos, he�s the real deal.
As is well documented, Public Enemy stand for strong political, social and cultural consciousness. The show was stopped for a few minutes of Bush and Blair-baiting. �Say fuck George Bush (fuck George Bush), say fuck Tony Blair (fuck Tony Blair).� It�s a fairly predictable stance to take these days, but it was well received, and really the perfect moment to unleash the surprisingly contemporary �Black Steel�.
The set list was flawless: all the hits were there, still sounding as original and phenomenal they did in the late 80s and early 90s.
Typically, this was more than just a read-through of the Public Enemy catalogue: Chuck and Flavor then recited a list of old-skool hip hop heroes (Grandmaster Flash, Erik B, KRS One, Scott La Roc etc.) and then performed an old skool medley, starting with classic Run DMC. Frankly, it started badly when both MCs forgot the second verse - something I’d never seen at a rap show before-, but it was very well recovered to slip into a bit of Wu Tang and other rap luminaries.
Professor Griff, another of the original P.E. members had been quiet up until this point, taking very much a back-up vocals role. In another surprise move, Griff then took centre stage, searing into a Rage Against The Machine cover, and several incredible Confrontation Camp (Chuck D and Professor Griff�s spin-off rock-rap outfit) tracks. This was very neatly rounded off with the classic Anthrax mash-up �Bring Tha Noize�.
There were, however, some shocking anomalies associated with this otherwise tight ship. For one, the dancer bodyguards. Now I know that these fearsome S1Ws (Security of the First World) are supposed to represent the militant black-power aspect of the group, but this pair were simply hilarious. Looking resplendent in khaki jumpsuits, berets and Aviators, they spent the entire show roughly as follows:
� 40% of the time standing stock still, looking hard.
� 10% standing stock still, looking bored.
� 20% dancing like a military robot. Marching on the spot, twirling about and saluting.
� 10% shadily looking around the stage and trying to get the other one�s attention with just his eyes.
� 5% time actually body-guarding: either hauling Flavor out from the front row, or helping Flavor Flav down after he went climbing speakers that were too high for him.
� 14% adopting the Black Panther pose.
� 1% brandishing samurai swords.
For the entire show, Flavor Flav had been plugging his solo album (self-titled, out October 31st). Now, Flavor Flav is a bit of a hero of mine, a truly iconic hip-hop figure, so when he announced he would perform some, I couldn’t wait to hear it.
Letting off 4 cuts, Flavor showed us what he was made of as a solo artist. And to be honest, we weren’t sure if it was meant to be a joke: an ironic slant on the ‘Don�t believe the hype’ ethos. No such luck. It was, I’m afraid, pretty dreadful. With choruses like ” um bungo-bungo” and “scooby scooby doo”, you could see the collective Academy consciousness shifting from �brilliant - I love Flavor Flav’� to �this is ok-ish� to �Christ, this is weak.�
As a bipolar antithesis to the serious, militant Chuck D, Flavor�s wit and enthusiasm works brilliantly. By himself, though? It feels novelty and instantly forgettable. Intentional or not, it was comedy-rap. Which, as the GLC have shown, has a shelf-life shorter than shellfish on a hot day.
The whole second half of the show seemed to be formed around Flavor, though. He was granted a rather amateur drum solo and given the opportunity to flog some limited edition Flava Flav T-shirts. If he wasn�t the most boisterous and vivacious rapper the world has ever seen, it could have been seen as an abuse of stage time.
Things took an odd turn when Flavor invited 10 or so pretty young girls on stage to “shake they booties.” Each in line received a hug from the rapper, and then a very shocked looking girl jumped away from his embrace. “If you get to grab my tush,� Flavor warned, �Then I get to grab your pussy and shit.”
It was surreal for sure, and to be honest, all this disrupted the flow of the concert, but thankfully Chuck and Griff came back on for a �Don�t Believe The Hype� and �Fight The Power� finale and all was forgiven.
All in all, Public Enemy gave us an enthralling night out. With nearly two and a half hours of absolutely timeless and important hip-hop history (minus 45 minutes of the Flavor Flav show), P.E. still put on one of the most polished, packed and ultimately entertaining shows- rap or otherwise- on the scene today.