Concert Review: Twiztid w/ Blaze, Wolfpac, Potluck 6/2/06

Let me start this with the disappointment. The show was advertised as Twiztid with Bobaflex, Axe Murder Boys, and Potluck. Two of those acts were not in attendance. Bobaflex, who I missed at last year's Gigantour, was not there, I had been looking forward to seeing them as I had reviewed their debut CD awhile back and would like to see them live. Secondly, and potentially the bigger offender of the two, no Axe Murder Boys. AMB is a recent addition to the Psychopathic family, one that I have not yet heard, I was anxious to see how they fit in. There were a couple of surprises making up that, which you can probably guess if you read the subject.

Concerts featuring any of the Psychopathic crew always prove to be a vastly different experience than any of the other shows I go to. One thing that all concerts have in common are that you are all there for the same reason, obviously, but these fans, affectionately called Juggalos, are a completely different breed. The chants of "Fam-a-ly" should be enough to clue you in. These fans, despite the variety of backgrounds, come together as one cohesive unit for these shows, and this night was no different.

The first act to hit the stage was Potluck. They are a duo from California and recently signed a record deal with Suburban Noize Records. They took the stage with little fanfare, the lights flashed to signal the sound guy to turn off the house music, and the beat was started by a player sitting onstage. The duo of 1 Ton and UnderRated set off for a half hour of old school style rhymes (not that I really know what that means, but it sounds right). The beats were simple, uncluttered affairs that served as a nice backbone to the duo. I may not be the biggest rap fan going, outside of Psychopathic, but these guys were good. The two have contrasting styles that compliment nicely, 1 Ton is a heavy set African-American with a laid back style, will the Jewish UnderRated provided the speedy flows. It seemed to take the crowd a little while to get into the set, but once they did, they gave the energy right back to the stage. Their rhymes were easy to relate to, they kept it at the level of the fans, no bling-bling tough guy excess here.

Next up was the first surprise of the evening, an appearance by Wolfpac. I have seen these guys a few times before, and their zany schtick is the same as it always is. Whether that is a good thing or not is debatable. They feature 4 rappers, a DJ, a masked man whose only job seems to be to whip the pit into a frothing frenzy (much like the dancing guy in the Mighty Mighty Bosstones), and a pair of amateur strippers. They performed a number of recognizable and catchy hardcore cuts, such as "Something Wicked This Way Comes" and "Death Becomes Her." While the four rappers roamed the stage like caged animals, they two girls were doing their thing on a couple of makeshift stripper poles on each side of the stage, slowly whittling away on their schoolgirl outfits. Occasionally one of the rappers would pull a bouncer onstage to receive and impromptu lapdance. Not sure you could really count me among the fans of these guys, but their is no denying the attitude they exude. Who needs mainstream success when you can have the ravenous Juggalos on your side? It is definitely an experience, if nothing else.

Now, the time we had all bought our tickets for was fast approaching. The Wolfpac went about removing the DJ equipment, stripper poles, and various articles of clothing from the stage as the crowd began to grow a bit restless. A few chants broke out, "Fam-a-ly" and "Twiz-tid" among them, as well as a few sing-alongs. It was shortly after 10:00 when the lights flashed and the music started.

The intro music began, Twiztid was about to make their presence felt. You could see guys in Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers masks peeking around the plastic sheet that was being used to hide Twiztid's set from view. The show started and Madrox and Monoxide came out to the roar of the crowd. They proceeded to tear it up onstage, playing a mix of new and old. I've heard it all, although I must admit to being a bigger fan of the alder material, particularly Freek Show. They did "Rock the Dead," "Bagz," "Afraid of Me," "Karma," "Mutant X," "Story of Our Lives," and "We Don't Die." Many of the newer songs I recognized the beats but couldn't tell you the names. Both of them seemed to be on top of their game, although I like Madrox' style better. They were onstage for a little over a half an hour before they quickly exited through the back door. I stood there wondering why they left, a question soon answered. We started hearing a slow bass groove and the words: "BLAZE......... Dead Homie" repeated over and over. It took me a minute to realize, but then Blaze Ya Dead Homie and The R.O.C. came down the steps at the rear of the stage. The crowd, me included, went nuts, none of us were expecting this. It is much like the time I saw ABK and Violent J showed up. Blaze and ROC went into a half hour set including "Casket," "Grave Ain't No Place," "Juggalo Anthem," "Shot-Gun," "Nasty," and "Pump This Shit." This was a great surprise, and really kicked the show to the next level. They left the stage and Madrox and Monoxide returned tot he stage. They kicked off with a few cuts from Madrox' solo album, Phatso, including "Hey Phatty" and "Sour Patch Bitches." During this, Blaze returned to the stage and finished off the show with Twiztid. The show ended abruptly about 15 minutes later as the trio exited out the back stage door. It was a little disappointing, the abrupt end, plus they didn't do anything with the big guillotine that was the centerpiece of their stage. I completely expected that to somehow come into play with the show's finale, but I was wrong.

Overall, this was a good show. It has been a long time coming for a Psychopathic return to The Chance, this was the first since Twiztid and Blaze passed through back in November 2004. I am disappointed not to have seen Bobaflex and AMB, but I am sure I will get another opportunity. Any fan of the Psychopathic should be out their supporting these guys.

Categories: Music, Concert, Reviews, Rap