pshabi
08-04-2007, 06:29 PM
I arrived @ JFK airport in NYC about 6:30 PM on Tuesday night. Pootytang had been in town for about 7 hours, did some visiting w/ a friend in the city, and then came back to meet me when I landed. We've been "friends" for a while but this was our first "real life" meeting. We hopped in the rental car, braved some minor NYC traffic and headed over the Verrazano Bridge toward Philly.
Pooty had arranged for us to stay two nights at his friend's Steve On-Point's crib. After a stop for eats, we got to SOP's about 11ish I'd guess. We visited for a few, changed to some fresh clothes, and decided to meet some of Steve's friends at a bar out in the 'burbs. We chatted up some people @ The Rusty Nail and had a some beer, as well as a few shots. Good time.
The next day, SOP took us on a tour of Philly. The highlight for me was the "Rocky Steps" out in front of the museum downtown. Pooty's got some cool pics of all of us. It was hot as fuck, so Pooty and I didn't run the steps, but Steve did.
Sidenote: If you ever get the chance to meet/hang out with SOP, don't pass that up. He was an unbelievable host, and also just an all around cool guy. He's an entertainer all the time. He had everyone laughing non-stop. Seriously, a really cool dude and an awesomely nice person.
We decide to head over to the venue at about 4:00. Rob$ and his gf Aimee had been holding down the line for a while. We got in line with them. The heat was unbearable. We fucked around, smoked cigs (and other shit), and kind of just people watched. There was a really entertaining crackhead who came by and sang for us. We made the best of it.
The doors finally opened up and we made our way into the venue. We all secured our spots at the rail. Looking around the crowd, I could tell it was gonna be "pushy" that night. When you look around, and 1/2 the crowd is shirtless, you know what kind of night you're in for.
About 3 "rows" behind us, there was this redneck, hillbilly, degenerate who was drunk already. He was starting fights with everyone around him, including me, and was really a distraction. I've been to numerous shows where idiots behind me have taken away from my good time. The guy was probably 5'8" and weighed about 135 lbs. Little man's syndrome, big time. If you look down, my sig was authored by him.:D
We had been talking to security for a while and we finally told the guard that the guy was going to be too much of a problem. The females were scared and honestly, I didn't like having my back to him. I had the two biggest guys at the show in Pooty and Rob on either side of me. But I just couldn't trust the guy.
Finally, security agreed to toss his ass. They called him up to the rail and told him it was time to go. Pooty and I each grabbed a leg and heaved him up to security and they bounced him. It was instant relief and we were ready for the show.
The Show! Wow, what a night. The Bboys were definitely on point and had it tightened up nicely after the overseas gigs. The band said it, and we agreed, that MMM was the MVP of the show. He was dropping straight up nasty, dark, grimey, filthy hip hop beats on everything. The kind of beats that make you scrunch up your face and say, "God damn!"
A highlight for me was Pass The Mic. Although I've heard it so many times live, the beats were just too good. Posse in Effect was also good, as was Super Disco Breakin'. I believe SDB was the first hip hop track they did.
The heat at the show was unbearable. The crowd was pretty rough. It was definitely no place for the weak up there. If I hadn't been well-hydrated, I would've passed out, no doubt.
As has been said, Pootytang did get a couple of shout outs during the night. At one point, he yelled Happy Birthday to Yauch. Yauch couldn't hear him and kept saying, "What?" Finally he came over to the front of the stage and a security guard relayed the message. Pooty told him, "It's my birthday too" and Yauch replied with, "you better not be lying!"
The band did shout out all the "friends" they had up front and pointed to all of us. That was really cool. Another cool point for me was later in the night. The set was drawing near the end and we were all drenched with sweat and were getting pretty wiped out. Pooty's a big dude, and was feeling pretty thirsty at this point. It was like Money Mark read his mind, because he held up a bottle of water and was like, "You want some?" Pooty didn't see him and I got his attention. Mark fired a perfect strike from behind the keyboards and hit Pooty right in the hands with 1/2 a bottle of water. Very cool moment. I drank some too and we kept the bottle, of course.
The show ended and we were literally dripping with sweat. We walked out of the venue and made our way to the car. Pooty had a hand full of change and was shaking saying, "anybody wanna sell a cig?" That's where the "pooty sighting" thread came from. He was not begging for change, just a smoke!!!!!
We headed over to the Abbaye, a SOP hangout. We met FaceDownFall (Dave), Rob$, and Aimee over there. We had some food and drinks and were about ready to leave when SOP's friend Max showed up. Max is from the legendary Philly hip hop group, The Goats. He bought us all a drink and told some great stories about touring with the boys back in the Cypress Hill days. We all went outside and shot the shit for a while, bumming Pooty's new found smokes, and trying to sneak in some puffs off the one-hitter on the corner outside. Max, Dave, and I drank some whiskey, I got fucked up and we went home to crash for the drive to AC the next day.
We got up kinda late and Pooty and I took off for AC. We arrived, picked up the tickets and got dressed to impress. Holy Shit, we were flyer than a motherfucker. We met Rob$ and Aimee at a bar in the casino and had some drinks (Crown and Ginger FTW BTW). A little while later, Razmatazern and her crew:) arrived and we talked with them a bit. Later, Pooty ran into Cey Adams in the casino. We all came out of the bar and met him (I had once prior to this already). I invited him to come have a drink with us and he did, which was cool.
From our bar, we could see the front entrance to the venue so we kept an eye out to make sure people weren't lining up. We finally got in line and were anxious for the show to start. They seemed like they were going to be really strict about cameras, so we chickened out and took ours back to the room. Finally, they opened up the doors and we started to make our way in.
Raz, Rob, et all go in before Pooty and I. We get to the front of the door and they take my ticket first. It won't fucking scan! He tries a couple of times and then tries Pooty's. They wouldn't work and we couldn't go in! So much for our front row spots!
We are told we have to go back to the box office and deal with it there. I'm fucking pissed and walking pretty quick with Pooty walking behind me a ways trying to get the BBMB crowd on the phone to try and hold us a spot. We get the new tickets and hustle back to the door. Low and motherfucking behold (I'm getting pissed all over again while typing this), our tickets don't work again. As soon as the scanner does the dreaded beep beep beep thing, I'm like, "No. Fuck this dude." I'm pretty much grab the ticket from him and just start walking in and he's like, "Fine just go."
We got in and while they did their best, we weren't necessarily all in up front. There was room for me to weasle in, but that was it. Pooty graciously stood behind me, but it wouldn't really matter later.
We were finally settled in and I was trying to get settled down and ready to party. Something I really enjoy is waiting and chilling with all the cool people from the board.
Sidenote: There's always a group of die hards from the BBMB at the front of every line. The group always changes, but IMO, there is always someone there from the "core group." If you ever have the chance to hook up and hang out, please pass that up. It's been such a positive experience for me. No one gets along with everyone, but everyone I've met so far have been really cool people to hang out with. It's a treat to spend time with people who like the boys as much as you do and it's a great way to spend a show, before, during, and after.
Another person got added to our little group at the Borgata. While we were waiting, we saw a little kid come walking toward the front/center with his dad. The kid was decked out in a 3-piece suit, with shades, and a fadora. He ended up walking up near us and we started talking to him.
His name is Darren and he's 12 years old. His dad was cool enough to bring him to the show and we kind of took them in and they hung out the whole time. His dad was familiar with the BBMB and, of course, he knew who Pootytang was.:rolleyes:
Sidenote: Darren or dad, if you read this, send me a private message with Darren's email so I can send him some bboy treats.
I've got two kids and I work with young people in my career, so I was naturally drawn to conversation with Darren. Probably the coolest 12-year old I've ever met. Like a mini-adult. I told him he was definitely going to get attention from the band, and that when the show started, he was getting on the rail with us.
Okay, now to the show. First, the crowd was weak. To me, it looked like maybe 5/8 of the seated section was full. The floor was full, but it wasn't smooshed together. People could stand and not really have to touch the person next to them. We had a lot of room to maneuver. The sound was shit. The mics were very low at times. A microphone in Fredo's drum set went out right during an important time in Lighten Up. It just wasn't good. Tinny.
The crowd was really, really tame most of the time, but in all honestly so was the bboys set. I was in heaven. It felt like a show personally for me. They pretty much played to the BBMB crowd in the front the entire time. It's hard to explain.
I'm pretty sure B for my name was the first track they played. It was kind of weird how they came out. It was like Fredo and MCA, then D and Adrock like 20 seconds later. There was no build up. Adam said something in the mic to start the song, started playing, and then looked kind of weird and said, "It sounds dead in here, Let's go!" I think the 2nd song was instrumental as well. They finally talked to us and then played Remote Control.
I can't remember the setlist for the life of me, but I remember lots of instrumentals and sometimes 3 of them in a row. It was really, really mellow the entire time. The crowd, I hate to say it, was kind of non-existant. I really liked it because the night before, the show was so crazy and high energy. This one had a totally different vibe and it was great for me. I could see a first-timer or a casual fan being EXTREMELY disappointed, I'm not going to lie. For me though, it was perfect. Like I said, they played for us. I cheered my ass off for 'em.
The best parts of the Borgata show was the many interactions with the band and having room to dance. I danced my ass off, and there were numerous times where I could see the guys give little nods to me and shit. It was really cool.
Right at the start of the show, Adrock noticed Darren (little kid) in front on the rail. He asked how old he was and told the crowd, "There's a little kid up here, he's 12 years old, and he's in a full suit!" I grabbed him and held him up to the crowd. He got one of the bigger cheers of the night and they even had the spotlight on him. Great moment.
Pootytang got at least 4 shout outs to him from Adrock during the show. They wished him a special birthday and played Jimmy James/Happy Birthday which was cooler than anything in the world. There were numerous mentions of his name I can't remember. Seriously, it was crazy. Adrock definitely said, "I'm not gonna lie man, you look good." Before one of the songs. Good stuff!!
The ultimate highlight for me was picking a song on the setlist!! They had just finished a song and Adrock was getting ready to get into something else, when I yelled out to Money Mark, "Hey Mark! Get on the bus!!!!!"
Adrock heard me, stepped away from the mic, and said, "Mark, they want you on the bus man," and waved him up there. They did Mark on the Bus and it was not on the setlist! It was cool. Mark kind of beckoned with his hand for us to help him sing it!! Afterward, I yelled, "Thanks Adam!" and he nodded and was like, "no problem."
After the show finished with Sabotage, Adrock walked right over directly in front of me (dead centerstage). He looked down right at the BBMB people, including me, and non-verbally said thank-you. Then Money Mark and Mike D come right down to us too. Mike rarely makes eye contact from the stage. At least way less than Adam and Adam. He did the same thing as did Yauch and then finally 'Fredo. It was unreal. It was like they knew how much we enjoyed it and like I said, THEY PLAYED FOR US!
My suggestion for those attending the Gala Events is this. Get dressed the fuck up and make sure you get up front. There was no crush at all and the bboys will know who you are. There was probably 1% or less people dressed up at ours. But it was really, really fun to dress up and it identified the true fans. Don't be a bitch about it and get your pimp on.
What a night and trip altogether! Pooty and I left AC and got on seperate planes and took off. It was so special to hang out with everyone. I met some great new people, and I've got a friend for life in my man, Pootytang. I got to hook up with Razmatazern again too. We've seen 4 shows together in the last 10 months. She's seeing her first w/o me today at Virgin Fest!
Great people, Great music, great times! When the bboys do Vegas, any of the crew from this week (and other shows I've seen) who can get out here better do it. Welcoming party at my house for the BBMB crew the night before the show!
If you read all of that, I hope you liked it. More of a diary entry for myself more than anthing.
One last thing: Pootytang is the most popular bboy fan of all time. He's too modest and he's actually almost embarassed by it, but he shouldn't be. Not only did the bboys shout him out to the point of astonishment, but people were approaching him on the streets, lmao. I promise you I do not kid about this. He's a god damned celebrity.
Also, a very deserving member of the board got to go backstage after the show and meet Adam and Adam, pics included! I'll let that person spill the beans if they decide to.:cool:
Pooty had arranged for us to stay two nights at his friend's Steve On-Point's crib. After a stop for eats, we got to SOP's about 11ish I'd guess. We visited for a few, changed to some fresh clothes, and decided to meet some of Steve's friends at a bar out in the 'burbs. We chatted up some people @ The Rusty Nail and had a some beer, as well as a few shots. Good time.
The next day, SOP took us on a tour of Philly. The highlight for me was the "Rocky Steps" out in front of the museum downtown. Pooty's got some cool pics of all of us. It was hot as fuck, so Pooty and I didn't run the steps, but Steve did.
Sidenote: If you ever get the chance to meet/hang out with SOP, don't pass that up. He was an unbelievable host, and also just an all around cool guy. He's an entertainer all the time. He had everyone laughing non-stop. Seriously, a really cool dude and an awesomely nice person.
We decide to head over to the venue at about 4:00. Rob$ and his gf Aimee had been holding down the line for a while. We got in line with them. The heat was unbearable. We fucked around, smoked cigs (and other shit), and kind of just people watched. There was a really entertaining crackhead who came by and sang for us. We made the best of it.
The doors finally opened up and we made our way into the venue. We all secured our spots at the rail. Looking around the crowd, I could tell it was gonna be "pushy" that night. When you look around, and 1/2 the crowd is shirtless, you know what kind of night you're in for.
About 3 "rows" behind us, there was this redneck, hillbilly, degenerate who was drunk already. He was starting fights with everyone around him, including me, and was really a distraction. I've been to numerous shows where idiots behind me have taken away from my good time. The guy was probably 5'8" and weighed about 135 lbs. Little man's syndrome, big time. If you look down, my sig was authored by him.:D
We had been talking to security for a while and we finally told the guard that the guy was going to be too much of a problem. The females were scared and honestly, I didn't like having my back to him. I had the two biggest guys at the show in Pooty and Rob on either side of me. But I just couldn't trust the guy.
Finally, security agreed to toss his ass. They called him up to the rail and told him it was time to go. Pooty and I each grabbed a leg and heaved him up to security and they bounced him. It was instant relief and we were ready for the show.
The Show! Wow, what a night. The Bboys were definitely on point and had it tightened up nicely after the overseas gigs. The band said it, and we agreed, that MMM was the MVP of the show. He was dropping straight up nasty, dark, grimey, filthy hip hop beats on everything. The kind of beats that make you scrunch up your face and say, "God damn!"
A highlight for me was Pass The Mic. Although I've heard it so many times live, the beats were just too good. Posse in Effect was also good, as was Super Disco Breakin'. I believe SDB was the first hip hop track they did.
The heat at the show was unbearable. The crowd was pretty rough. It was definitely no place for the weak up there. If I hadn't been well-hydrated, I would've passed out, no doubt.
As has been said, Pootytang did get a couple of shout outs during the night. At one point, he yelled Happy Birthday to Yauch. Yauch couldn't hear him and kept saying, "What?" Finally he came over to the front of the stage and a security guard relayed the message. Pooty told him, "It's my birthday too" and Yauch replied with, "you better not be lying!"
The band did shout out all the "friends" they had up front and pointed to all of us. That was really cool. Another cool point for me was later in the night. The set was drawing near the end and we were all drenched with sweat and were getting pretty wiped out. Pooty's a big dude, and was feeling pretty thirsty at this point. It was like Money Mark read his mind, because he held up a bottle of water and was like, "You want some?" Pooty didn't see him and I got his attention. Mark fired a perfect strike from behind the keyboards and hit Pooty right in the hands with 1/2 a bottle of water. Very cool moment. I drank some too and we kept the bottle, of course.
The show ended and we were literally dripping with sweat. We walked out of the venue and made our way to the car. Pooty had a hand full of change and was shaking saying, "anybody wanna sell a cig?" That's where the "pooty sighting" thread came from. He was not begging for change, just a smoke!!!!!
We headed over to the Abbaye, a SOP hangout. We met FaceDownFall (Dave), Rob$, and Aimee over there. We had some food and drinks and were about ready to leave when SOP's friend Max showed up. Max is from the legendary Philly hip hop group, The Goats. He bought us all a drink and told some great stories about touring with the boys back in the Cypress Hill days. We all went outside and shot the shit for a while, bumming Pooty's new found smokes, and trying to sneak in some puffs off the one-hitter on the corner outside. Max, Dave, and I drank some whiskey, I got fucked up and we went home to crash for the drive to AC the next day.
We got up kinda late and Pooty and I took off for AC. We arrived, picked up the tickets and got dressed to impress. Holy Shit, we were flyer than a motherfucker. We met Rob$ and Aimee at a bar in the casino and had some drinks (Crown and Ginger FTW BTW). A little while later, Razmatazern and her crew:) arrived and we talked with them a bit. Later, Pooty ran into Cey Adams in the casino. We all came out of the bar and met him (I had once prior to this already). I invited him to come have a drink with us and he did, which was cool.
From our bar, we could see the front entrance to the venue so we kept an eye out to make sure people weren't lining up. We finally got in line and were anxious for the show to start. They seemed like they were going to be really strict about cameras, so we chickened out and took ours back to the room. Finally, they opened up the doors and we started to make our way in.
Raz, Rob, et all go in before Pooty and I. We get to the front of the door and they take my ticket first. It won't fucking scan! He tries a couple of times and then tries Pooty's. They wouldn't work and we couldn't go in! So much for our front row spots!
We are told we have to go back to the box office and deal with it there. I'm fucking pissed and walking pretty quick with Pooty walking behind me a ways trying to get the BBMB crowd on the phone to try and hold us a spot. We get the new tickets and hustle back to the door. Low and motherfucking behold (I'm getting pissed all over again while typing this), our tickets don't work again. As soon as the scanner does the dreaded beep beep beep thing, I'm like, "No. Fuck this dude." I'm pretty much grab the ticket from him and just start walking in and he's like, "Fine just go."
We got in and while they did their best, we weren't necessarily all in up front. There was room for me to weasle in, but that was it. Pooty graciously stood behind me, but it wouldn't really matter later.
We were finally settled in and I was trying to get settled down and ready to party. Something I really enjoy is waiting and chilling with all the cool people from the board.
Sidenote: There's always a group of die hards from the BBMB at the front of every line. The group always changes, but IMO, there is always someone there from the "core group." If you ever have the chance to hook up and hang out, please pass that up. It's been such a positive experience for me. No one gets along with everyone, but everyone I've met so far have been really cool people to hang out with. It's a treat to spend time with people who like the boys as much as you do and it's a great way to spend a show, before, during, and after.
Another person got added to our little group at the Borgata. While we were waiting, we saw a little kid come walking toward the front/center with his dad. The kid was decked out in a 3-piece suit, with shades, and a fadora. He ended up walking up near us and we started talking to him.
His name is Darren and he's 12 years old. His dad was cool enough to bring him to the show and we kind of took them in and they hung out the whole time. His dad was familiar with the BBMB and, of course, he knew who Pootytang was.:rolleyes:
Sidenote: Darren or dad, if you read this, send me a private message with Darren's email so I can send him some bboy treats.
I've got two kids and I work with young people in my career, so I was naturally drawn to conversation with Darren. Probably the coolest 12-year old I've ever met. Like a mini-adult. I told him he was definitely going to get attention from the band, and that when the show started, he was getting on the rail with us.
Okay, now to the show. First, the crowd was weak. To me, it looked like maybe 5/8 of the seated section was full. The floor was full, but it wasn't smooshed together. People could stand and not really have to touch the person next to them. We had a lot of room to maneuver. The sound was shit. The mics were very low at times. A microphone in Fredo's drum set went out right during an important time in Lighten Up. It just wasn't good. Tinny.
The crowd was really, really tame most of the time, but in all honestly so was the bboys set. I was in heaven. It felt like a show personally for me. They pretty much played to the BBMB crowd in the front the entire time. It's hard to explain.
I'm pretty sure B for my name was the first track they played. It was kind of weird how they came out. It was like Fredo and MCA, then D and Adrock like 20 seconds later. There was no build up. Adam said something in the mic to start the song, started playing, and then looked kind of weird and said, "It sounds dead in here, Let's go!" I think the 2nd song was instrumental as well. They finally talked to us and then played Remote Control.
I can't remember the setlist for the life of me, but I remember lots of instrumentals and sometimes 3 of them in a row. It was really, really mellow the entire time. The crowd, I hate to say it, was kind of non-existant. I really liked it because the night before, the show was so crazy and high energy. This one had a totally different vibe and it was great for me. I could see a first-timer or a casual fan being EXTREMELY disappointed, I'm not going to lie. For me though, it was perfect. Like I said, they played for us. I cheered my ass off for 'em.
The best parts of the Borgata show was the many interactions with the band and having room to dance. I danced my ass off, and there were numerous times where I could see the guys give little nods to me and shit. It was really cool.
Right at the start of the show, Adrock noticed Darren (little kid) in front on the rail. He asked how old he was and told the crowd, "There's a little kid up here, he's 12 years old, and he's in a full suit!" I grabbed him and held him up to the crowd. He got one of the bigger cheers of the night and they even had the spotlight on him. Great moment.
Pootytang got at least 4 shout outs to him from Adrock during the show. They wished him a special birthday and played Jimmy James/Happy Birthday which was cooler than anything in the world. There were numerous mentions of his name I can't remember. Seriously, it was crazy. Adrock definitely said, "I'm not gonna lie man, you look good." Before one of the songs. Good stuff!!
The ultimate highlight for me was picking a song on the setlist!! They had just finished a song and Adrock was getting ready to get into something else, when I yelled out to Money Mark, "Hey Mark! Get on the bus!!!!!"
Adrock heard me, stepped away from the mic, and said, "Mark, they want you on the bus man," and waved him up there. They did Mark on the Bus and it was not on the setlist! It was cool. Mark kind of beckoned with his hand for us to help him sing it!! Afterward, I yelled, "Thanks Adam!" and he nodded and was like, "no problem."
After the show finished with Sabotage, Adrock walked right over directly in front of me (dead centerstage). He looked down right at the BBMB people, including me, and non-verbally said thank-you. Then Money Mark and Mike D come right down to us too. Mike rarely makes eye contact from the stage. At least way less than Adam and Adam. He did the same thing as did Yauch and then finally 'Fredo. It was unreal. It was like they knew how much we enjoyed it and like I said, THEY PLAYED FOR US!
My suggestion for those attending the Gala Events is this. Get dressed the fuck up and make sure you get up front. There was no crush at all and the bboys will know who you are. There was probably 1% or less people dressed up at ours. But it was really, really fun to dress up and it identified the true fans. Don't be a bitch about it and get your pimp on.
What a night and trip altogether! Pooty and I left AC and got on seperate planes and took off. It was so special to hang out with everyone. I met some great new people, and I've got a friend for life in my man, Pootytang. I got to hook up with Razmatazern again too. We've seen 4 shows together in the last 10 months. She's seeing her first w/o me today at Virgin Fest!
Great people, Great music, great times! When the bboys do Vegas, any of the crew from this week (and other shows I've seen) who can get out here better do it. Welcoming party at my house for the BBMB crew the night before the show!
If you read all of that, I hope you liked it. More of a diary entry for myself more than anthing.
One last thing: Pootytang is the most popular bboy fan of all time. He's too modest and he's actually almost embarassed by it, but he shouldn't be. Not only did the bboys shout him out to the point of astonishment, but people were approaching him on the streets, lmao. I promise you I do not kid about this. He's a god damned celebrity.
Also, a very deserving member of the board got to go backstage after the show and meet Adam and Adam, pics included! I'll let that person spill the beans if they decide to.:cool: