Saw J Dilla, Frank N Dank, Phat Kat & DJ Rhettmatic last night @ the Jazz Cafe

[On The Edge of Insanity]

Phat Kat came out first just to do some call and response to get the crowd warmed up, before leaving DJ Rhettmatic to do about a half hour set of mainly hiphop with a bit of funk/soul mixed in. Phat Kat then came back out, this time with Frank N Dank in tow. They opened with "Pause" which got everyone really hype, and then went through various tracks off of their albums, all of which would keeping the crowd moving. They played for about 20 minutes, before handing back to Phat Kat who did 4-5 of his songs, none of which I'd heard before, but which all seemed pretty dope. The security then started carrying someone down the stairs onto the stage who they put into a wheelchair, which when spun round, everyone could see was J Dilla even with his face covered up. I think most people, including me, thought this was going to be like a little fake part, alluding to all of the health problems he'd had before, and that he'd jump up out of the wheelchair once he started to perform. However, this wasn't the case at all, as after revealing that it was him, he went on to perform the 5-6 songs he did whilst still in the wheelchair. Dilla's restrainment didn't effect the crowd getting into the tracks though, as such classics as "McNasty Flith", "The Official" and "Fuck The Police" brought the whole place down. Dilla was obviously tiring though, and so a couple of songs later DJ Rhettmatic started to play loads of classic Dilla produced joints with "Players" and "1nce Again" getting the best receptions from the crowd. They played some beats offa his beat CDs which Frank N Dank & Phat Kat took turns the freestyle over, but the whole thing was a bit surreal. Dilla didn't seem very attentive at all, the only movement really being him acting out the drumming on the tracks with his hands, and the odd smile at seeing the crowd reaction to some of the tracks. One of the guys from Frank N Dank was getting quite emotional when trying to get a response from the crowd, his voice breaking when saying that "he's come all this way just to see you guys;the fans", and the whole episode felt, pretty sadly, almost like a farewell tour for Dilla. Now, I don't want to start a rumour or anything with this, but that's just how it seemed to me, and Dilla really didn't look too good throughout. Overall it was a good night, if a little strange, and hopefully Dilla was just tired or something after the plane journey, rather than his condition being as bad as it seemed.

[Bramsterdam (see ya)]

Damn eh.. props for the post. Hopefully he's ok

[On The Edge of Insanity]

Another guy who was at the gig posted some pics of Dilla here,

http://www.matildaegere-cooper.blogspot.com

[Leggy Hendrix]

damn...props on the review...when i read another review of the gig i couldnt believe it, i thought he was getting better, but those pictures dont seem to back up that story...i hope he gets well soon, i hope his condition is improving rather than deteriorating...