My review of Pharoahe Monch @ The Jazz Cafe, London, 25th August 2004 (Pics)

[On The Edge of Insanity]

I turned up at the Jazz Cafe pretty early, and got a few drinks down before Aphletik came on to do his support act. This was the third time I have now seen him as a support at the Jazz Cafe, and as ever he put on a pretty dope performance, finishing with a posse cut with the rest of the 100% crew, including an incredibly fine lady going by the name of Queen.

The DJ then warmed the crowd up with plenty of dope mid nineties tunes, from Smif N Wesson to Brand Nubian, Lady of Rage to Tribe Called Quest and so on, before Pharoahe's DJ came out, did a little warmup/soundcheck, and then told us to get ready for the one and only Pharaohe Monch to come out.

Pharaohe walked down the stairs, and started off a night of pure hiphop. I managed to get in the front row, so I was literally right next to Pharoahe throughout the whole gig, and got plenty of hand slapping acknowledgement throughout. Pharaohe came out to a joint from Internal Affairs, can't remember the name though, and then went straight into a couple new songs off his upcoming album. They were both pretty tight, and after a few more crowd participation back and forths, he went into "Fuck You" getting everyone to put their middle fingers up in the air. From then on everything he dropped was pure fire, from classics like "The Light" and his verse from "Oh No",to the brilliance of "Agent Orange", to some new tracks, including an amazing track produced by Alchemist, and so on. He informed us that he had Jemini the Gifted One and Kardinal Offishall in the house, but there was no evidence of either of them actually being there throughout the gig. He did a dedication to all the people in hiphop who we've lost, through getting everyone to make as much noise as possible, and then getting everyone chanting along to Hip Hop by Dead Prez. He gave his DJ time to shine to, and shine he did using his mouth to move the cross fader, and scratching with his hand under his leg, whilst staying perfectly in time with his scratching. Pharoahe then warned the people in the front row to brace themselves, and everyone knew what was coming. The Godzilla horns blazed out, and the spot erupted. Pharaohe and his back up singers poured water over everyone near to them (I got soaked), and everyone stayed full on hyper for the entire song. It was definitely one of the craziest moments I've ever seen at a hiphop gig. After that Pharoahe left the stage, but was brought back by the chants of "Pharaohe, Pharoahe" from the crowd. He came back and did an acapella track before ending with a new track, which had the male backup singer singing crazy soulful, and Pharoahe dropping mad quotables as ever. He left the stage to an amazing ovation, and so it had ended.

Pharoahe completly tore down the spot for over an hour, and even his new material had everyone moving. The backup singers were really dope, and his DJ certainly knew what he was doing. Only slight disappointments were the lack of a few verses from Organised Konfusion tracks, and "Show No Mercy", but other than that it was an almost perfect gig, and although he's now on Shady, it completly restored my faith in Pharoahe making a really dope next album.

Pictures:

[Throwback]

sounds like a fuckin dope concert. wish i was there

[eS El Duque]

sounds like a fuckin dope concert. wish i was there

[Leggy Hendrix]

sounds like a sick show man...gutted i couldnt get to it...

props for the review...

[Jome]

Pharaohe came out to a joint from Internal Affairs, can't remember the name though, and then went straight into a couple new songs off his upcoming album. They were both pretty tight, and after a few more crowd participation back and forths, he went into "Fuck You" getting everyone to put their middle fingers up in the air. From then on everything he dropped was pure fire, from classics like "The Light" and his verse from "Oh No",to the brilliance of "Agent Orange", to some new tracks, including an amazing track produced by Alchemist, and so on. He informed us that he had Jemini the Gifted One and Kardinal Offishall in the house, but there was no evidence of either of them actually being there throughout the gig. He did a dedication to all the people in hiphop who we've lost, through getting everyone to make as much noise as possible, and then getting everyone chanting along to Hip Hop by Dead Prez. He gave his DJ time to shine to, and shine he did using his mouth to move the cross fader, and scratching with his hand under his leg, whilst staying perfectly in time with his scratching. Pharoahe then warned the people in the front row to brace themselves, and everyone knew what was coming. The Godzilla horns blazed out, and the spot erupted. Pharaohe and his back up singers poured water over everyone near to them (I got soaked), and everyone stayed full on hyper for the entire song. It was definitely one of the craziest moments I've ever seen at a hiphop gig.

Damn, sounds exactly like the show he did in my city..
He puts on a great show, even 40 year old newspaper journos give him great reviews.

Gonna see M.O.P. tomorrow at one of the local clubs, it would be crazy if Pharoahe took the flight over for a unexpected appearence.