#The90s

90’s Dallas Rock Rolls on w/ The Toadies, Baboon, Tripping Daisy, Old 97’s & more (Fall/2019)

Man, what year is it? In the past couple of weeks some of the biggest & brightest from Dallas’ 90’s heyday were back in some capacity. Some never left.

The Toadies – December 30th – Billy Bob’s Texas – Fort Worth, TX

And annual local tradition now in it’s 7th year of Texas Treasures The Toadies playing their hometown landmark Billy Bob’s the day before NYE.
A tradition that I haven’t been available to partake in the last few years & happy to be back. This show is always unique as it straddles a very fine line as they are not the normal demographic of Billy Bob’s clientele nor is their audience whom the majority of have probably only seen the inside of this tourist institution thanks to the Toadies.

Though it’s not NYE, it definitely has that year end vibe & is always the last show of the year (at least these last 7 years) for the band so their’s this kinda mean “fuck it” vibe. It’s also interesting to note that this is that only Toadies shows I see that are littered with fights in the crowd, sometimes so severe & so often that singer/guitarist Todd Lewis has had to stop the show on multiple occasions. Thankfully that wasn’t the case this time but I still saw several fights, a sea of uptight security & just a general vibe that wasn’t entirely welcoming.

Still the band delivered with a long set spanning their entire career that now stretches almost 30 years which is unbelievable as I was there at the very beginning.

Setlist

Quitter
Push the Hand
No Deliverance
Polly Jean
Mexican Hairless
I Come From the Water
When I Die
Little Sin
Song I Hate
Rattler’s Revival
Take Me Alive
You’ll Come Down
Tyler
Summer of the Strange
Mama Take Me Home
Backslider
You Know the Words
Possum Kingdom
Hell in High Water

Encore:

The Appeal
Paper Dress
Away
I Burn

The Toadies – October 11th – Southside Ballroom – Dallas, TX

Long time friends of mine, that I still see a few times a year still kicking ass. They are so beloved in this town, it’s always a treat to hear the hometown crowd sing back every lyric.

Tonight was somewhat special as they were celebrating 25 years of their breakthrough LP Rubberneck, many of whose tracks are still in regular rotation on Texas radio. Just like with their 20th Anniversary of the LP 5 years ago, long time fans know basically what this means is that their gonna add the songs Mister Love & Velvet to the set as they usually play most of Rubberneck minus those two songs as they both require quite a bit of screaming that might be a bit to reconcile every night after a quarter century.

Setlist:

Got a Heart
Little Sin
Polly Jean
No Deliverance
In the Belly of a Whale
You’ll Come Down

Rubberneck Set

Mexican Hairless
Mister Love
Backslider
Possum Kingdom
Quitter
Away
I Come From the Water
Tyler
Happy Face
Velvet
I Burn

Encore:

Stop It (Pylon cover)
Run-in With Dad
When I Die
Song I Hate
I Put a Spell on You (Screamin’ Jay Hawkins cover)

Baboon – October 18th – The Kessler Theatre – Dallas, TX

Another great Dallas band, also closely associated with the Toadies is Denton’s Baboon. Holy shit how much do I love these guys and this band!
IMO one of the strongest & most unique not only in Texas but just some of the most entertaining & impactful shows I’ve ever seen by anyone.
To my knowledge this was their first show (at least locally) in about 5 years and certainly the last time that I saw them.

There was a time when you had to get to their Deep Ellum shows early or risk not getting in due to it selling out. They could easily pack 400+ at Trees on a weekend night. I don’t know if they under promoted the show or there was a lot going on this evening but their were less than 50 here.
Didn’t seem to matter to the band, as they all seemed genuinely thrilled to be performing again and this was to our benefit.

I love this venue and local stalwart Jeffrey Liles does an amazing job booking this place, but even I feel like I never know about shows here as well and often forget that this place exists. It’s not in Deep Ellum or even downtown, I never see ads or flyers & it’s only when I go “Oh yeah THAT PLACE, I wonder what’s coming up?” and I’ll see something on the horizon. That’s probably why I’ve only been here like maybe a dozen or less times all these years but when I am, I’m always happy to be, it’s such a neat room, it always feels like a “special” night when I’m here. And the perfect room for Baboon to bring back their brand of weirdness for a fun night.

Festival at the Switchyard w/ the Old 97’s, Tripping Daisy & more – November 2nd – Historic Downtown – Carrolton, TX

Two more Dallas based bands that had the most success in their careers in the 90’s, Tripping Daisy & Old 97’s headlined the 10th annual Festival at the Switchyard. In celebration of it’s 10th anniversary, both bands serve as a throwback to the inaugural festival in 2010 when Old 97’s and The Polyphonic Spree, which features Tripping Daisy lead singer Tim DeLaughter and other bandmates, headlined the show.

In addition to free concerts, the award-winning Festival at the Switchyard features free live children’s entertainment, free rides and games, free face painting and balloon art, a beer garden, and an array of food vendors and festival booths to shop from.

Old 97’s 

Band was in fine form, never really went away and still kicking ass.

Setlist:

Jagged
A State of Texas
Salome
Victoria
Mama Tried (Merle Haggard cover)
Lonely Holiday
Big Brown Eyes
Good With God
Question
Valentine
Barrier Reef
The Other Shoe
Champaign, Illinois
Four Leaf Clover
Timebomb

Up next was Tripping Daisy, who’ve had a big year of getting the old band back together. First was 3 shows in one weekend back in April with the first 2 being warmup gigs at Deep Ellum staple Club Dada & frontman Tim Delaughter’s own vinyl shop Good Records that culminated with another local festival Homegrown,(along with The Toadies). After 18 years, the surviving members of Tripping Daisy reunited to headline the Homegrown Festival in 2017 and returned to perform again at the festival this year.

Tripping Daisy 

The crowd as you can imagine was ravenous for this one-two punch of old local heroes & especially for TD as they’ve been away for so long and it seemed this was a chance for a younger demographic to see what their elders had long talked about as almost mythical.

Setlist – 

PirANhA
On the Ground
New Plains Medicine
One Through Four
Waited a Light Year
SAme DREss neW dAy
RAINdrOP
Geeareohdoubleyou
ROCketPop
Mechanical Breakdown
I Got a Girl
Field Day Jitters
PriCK
High

Encore: 

Brown-Eyed Pickle Boy
My Umbrella
Creature
I Don’t Know (Ozzy Osbourne cover)

Pre-Party for Scott Beggs’ Birthday with Surprise Show from Tripping Daisy – November 3rd – Three Links – Dallas, TX

Ok so like deja vu right? So I had just been across the street at Trees for a marathon show from Helmet and I’m leaving as the show ended around 11pm, when I look across the street to see something chaotic & familiar happening. Three Links is owned by our long time friend & Deep Ellum stalwart Scott Beggs (who recently joined us for our Clutch episode on TrickyKid Radio). It being a Sunday I had thought they might be wrapping up the evening as well went I take a second look and see that holy shit, that’s Tripping Daisy inside!

I knew it was Scott’s birthday in a few days & had already planned to attend the Roast they were having the next night for his 50th birthday but I guess he wanted to get things cooking earlier and did they ever. Tripping Daisy was billed as “Soothing Jubilee” to help keep the secret, but heard later they revealed the surprise just an hour before the show.

And this wasn’t a quick abbreviated set either, in fact it was even longer than last night’s show in Carrollton to over 30K people, lasting well over 2 hours featured tracks from all four of Tripping Daisy’s albums. Performing as a six-piece with Dylan Silvers as multi-instrumentalist, the band played a terrific set as projectors filled two large screens with psychedelic imagery. DeLaughter dragged his microphone into the crowd a few times, wished Beggs a happy birthday, and took a moment to remember Tim Berggren who passed away almost 20 years ago to the day and the initial reason TD broke up.

Indeed, the band really seemed to be having fun, and an enthusiastic crowd packed the small venue but then things got weird. DeLaughter playfully chastised the crowd for requesting lesser-known tracks from a quarter-century ago. But then the band dug deep into its catalog even though DeLaughter struggled to remember some of the lyrics.

Then DeLaughter left the stage for a few moments before returning for Trip Along After that, Tripping Daisy actually performed the Ozzy Osbourne cover again. It was near 1 a.m., and about half of the crowd, who presumably had to go to work in the morning, started leaving. DeLaughter wanted to play another song, but by then the band had had enough after playing 24 songs.

Setlist:

Same as above the day before but added two songs at the very beginning & at the end:

Tragiverse
Kids Are Calling

+ an Encore of

Blown Away
Washing Machine
Trip Along

Dallas rock is alive & well!

Photos – 

Roy Turner
Jason Janik

MC Hammer’s Summer House Party w/ Kid N Play, Sir MixAlot & more (Aug 2019)

It’s a Summer House Party!!

MC Hammer’s House Party w/ Kid N Play, Sir Mix Alot & more – August 2nd – Toyota Music Factory – Irving, TX

Have you ever wanted to dance to “U Can’t Touch This,” “Baby Got Back,” “Bust a Move,” Just a Friend,” “Funky Cold Medina” and “Me So Horny” all in one evening?

Me too but this will take some unpacking:
When I first saw this flyer I thought “Oh snap, that could become a reality and be really fun” Not to mention it was the perfect time of year for an outdoor Summertime old school Hip-Hop Party. What I didn’t notice & (& totally should have is the bottom fine print where it says Lineups Vary By City.
MC Hammer is obviously playing every night of the tour, but the other artists vary from show to show. From the time I heard about the show until the literally the day before the gig I wasn’t aware of this bit of information. It wasn’t until the PR people sent me the iteniarary that I realized we weren’t getting even remotely the acts that I had been anticipating. My questions then turned to: “Where is Biz, Rob Base, En Vogue, Doug E. & so many of the others?”. Now I know with that many acts not all could make the tour every night but dang, when I saw that the lineup was gonna be this:

The Funky Bunch
2 Live Crew
Kid N Play
Sisque (& Dru Hill)
Sir Mix Alot
MC Hammer

Especially when I heard that the night before in Houston, Doug E, Rob & Tone Loc were on the bill. Then my immediate next question was: What kind of show the Funky Bunch can put together without Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg? 

We only caught the end of their set but it didn’t appear that we missed much.
Next up was 2 Live Crew, who I was eagerly anticipating as I LOVED their 1989 controversial As Nasty as They Wanna Be, that’s celebrating it’s 30 year Anniversary (that we discuss in length over at TrickyKid Radio for our All Thing 1989 series that you can check out here).

Setlist:

Move Somethin’
Pop That Pussy
Me So Horny
We Want Some Pussy
Hoochie Mama
Savage
If You Believe in Having Sex

The second they were onstage, more questions than answers were coming – Where are the members of this group? No Luke, no Brother Marquis & no Fresh Kid Ice, that we didn’t know had passed away until Mixx announced it from the stage (RIP). So Mixx, who started the group I guess owns the rights and can tour under that name but this wasn’t the 2 Live Crew we were excited to see.

The obvious predecessor to this show is the ongoing I Love The 90’s tour, spearheaded most nights by Salt N Pepa. But while that tour was super fun & also featured Tone Loc, Coolio and Young MC, it was also a smoothly run production whereas this show felt like from the beginning something that reeks of amateur hour in it’s execution & these several missteps to start the show only cemented that vibe. Next up was another I Love the 90’s alumni Kid N Play who in my opinion stole that show when we saw it and this one:

Since these guys started so young, they still look, walk, talk & rap like the Kid N Play you remember. Also some campy skit comedy thrown in for good measure and they are the reason to come to the show in the first place. A total blast that I will see as long as they tour.

Sisqo & Dru Hill

Now this was a surprise for many & this was the only date they were on the tour. But again the surprise wasn’t intentional, the powers that be somehow didn’t mention that this was gonna be a Dru Hill reunion one night only style that if your a fan of this, this was a big deal. I had no idea who they were, barely remember Sisqo’s novelty hit Thong Song celebrating it’s 20 anniversary this year. But in terms of production, this was the best quality of the evening. This reunion features two of it’s newest members in anticipation of the forthcoming 2Nd Coming Lp.

Sir Mix Alot

Now this was interesting, as I like Sir Mix Alot & beyond HIS novelty hit Baby Got Back from waaaay back in 1992 that he’s clearly sick of performing & being known for. I first heard his music in 8th Grade when couple of “edgy” kids had his debut Swass that featured this minor hit Posse on Broadway. I’d never seen Mixalot and wanted to but have to say this: I love this dude but he always seems a little grumpy and onstage was no different. Call it old age or whatever but at times he seemed downright resentful for being there and just overall short tempered. And not just here, all the interviews I see, it just doesn’t seem like he’s having any fun at all, which in turn, makes it hard for the audience to enjoy something he refuses to sell.
For instance: When the inevitable “let’s get some ladies from the crowd portion” rolled around, one started to attempt to dance with him and the crowd popped at her ambition only to sigh when he literally walked around her to get away from her. He scolded this one girl ON THE MIC for trying to get a pic with him etc.

Even when he tried to sound upbeat it still sounded cranky: At the beginning of the aformentioned Posse, he said “Ya’ll know this one? You should, your the one’s who blew it up” and later on 1996’s Jump On It he bellowed “Now this whole damn song is about Texas”. Cheer up dude.

The tour, which is being billed as Hammer’s first major tour since 1991 but fans in this area know that earlier this year he did a one off at Lava Cantina in a suburb North of Dallas which was in fact his first appearance in these parts since the early 90s.
The interesting there here is there is good & then their is baffling:

First the good:

Despite it being close to 30 freaking years later, he still for the most part looks & moves like Hammer & can perform those songs to great satisfaction.

The Baffling:

The pacing didn’t seem like it really had any rhyme or reason – like you just happened to be at a Burrell Family Reunion and all the kids begged Uncle Hammer to get up & do his thing.
Family: Didn’t this dude go bankrupt the first time around for being overly generous by giving like everyone he ever knew a job? Which is commendable and I’m that type of dude too, I would totally go broke supporting the ones I love & not give a shit. But he clearly hasn’t learned his lesson in business terms as while it may be cool to have a few dancers with him, he had like two freaking dozen!! And you got the impression that they were all related to him.

Ok, it’s a family affair so what’s wrong with that? Nothing persay, but the execution of this show, again felt like it was unplanned but without the spark of spontaneity. Like you can’t say it a refreshing backyard party free of pretense and that makes it cool, because he started the show throwing out roses to select females. It just felt like a mess.

And it only got messier: Remember above when I mentioned Mixalot doing the “let’s get some ladies onstage” bit?
At one point towards the end his handlers allowed a dangerous amount of people onstage, for this cavernous place that was way undersold to have turned a profit, it felt like there were more people onstage than off of it. We were in like the first 5 rows and there were so many bodies onstage that I looked over at my wife and said “Where the hell is Hammer??” We could hear him but he was buried in this sea of people unable to move let alone dance.

Hey Hammer, you wanna hire a bunch of people, get a choreographer and a stage manager!

Setlist:

Let’s Get It Started
Pumps and a Bump
Have You Seen Her
Pray
They Put Me in the Mix
Curious
Here We Go Again
Too Legit to Quit

Encore: 

U Can’t Touch This
I’m MC Hammer
Turn This Mutha Out

Photos –

Roy Turner
Reggie Edwards
Nicolai Puc
Ward 1 Design

 

MC Hammer – November 2nd 2018 – Lava Cantina – The Colony, TX

Let me say this: Just the rarity of this show made it enjoyable for starters. Secondly to see one of the biggest commercial acts of the past 30 years in such an intimate venue (without it being sad or depressing) was an equal +.
But the real positive was that simply the performance was DOPE – Hammer & his troupe came out swinging for the fences & never let up for a solid hour.

Despite my research I can’t find anything that would suggest that this isn’t his first performance of any kind in these parts in over a quarter-century.
That’s gotta be wrong right? If you can prove otherwise, drop us a line. Here’s the thing with Hammer (for me) – As a student of Hip-Hop his brand to me might as well be Coca-Cola right? But his success came into my life at a time (middle school) when as an adult you become nostalgic for everything that came out during that time, even if you weren’t really into that shit at the time haha.
Now I can’t say I wasn’t totally into it, cause I was a little, I loved his Rick James remix hit, I watched the (much maligned) Saturday Morning Cartoon Hammerman & watched Arsenio Hall’s (original) late night show religiously. With Hammer though, his peers are more like Vanilla Ice, not just because of the commercial aspect but there is some serious legitimacy issues (pun intended) with this guy. As talented as he was (& clearly still is) he’s the perfect example of someone with zero self-awareness that causes some career & personal decisions that he can never return from.
But hey, Prince loved him & enough to loan him a rare sample.
None of that matter on this night, this was just a fun show – So what that the owner of the club probably just loved MC Hammer & is on a quest to use his adult resources to relive his childhood and just flew this dude in for this & all this was is a live paycheck – who cares? It was fun & I’d probably go again.

Setlist:

Let’s Get It Started
Pumps and a Bump
Have You Seen Her
It’s All Good
I’m MC Hammer
Pray
Keep On
Addams Groove
Too Legit To Quit
U Can’t Touch This
She Said
I’m Dreaming

 

The 90’s Return w/ Quicksand, The Pixies & Weezer + Helmet & more

Summer is in full swing & with lots of fun nostalgia for Summers past – Alot of the bands that were huge in the 1990’s are still bringing it hard & quite a few with new LPs & tours that make them just as relevant today & not an oldies act at all.

The Pixies & Weezer – June 27th –  Dos Equis Pavilion – Dallas, TX

To go to an outdoor show in Texas in the Summer is a rite of passage but with that comes serious commitment. You agree to shake hands with the devil, dress as loosely as possible and take on the heat to see your favorite act in person. This was the case for those of us wanting to have a lit Summer & checking out the Pixies & Weezer at the newly names Dos Equis Pavilion (or whatever their calling Starplex these days).

Stragglers cheered as Pixies frontman Frank Black entered the stage followed by bandmates Paz Lenchantin, Joey Santiago and David Lovering. The Pixies started their roughly 70-minute set to seated but enthusiastic fans like us. While I can say that I’ve become “accustomed” to seeing the Pixies indoors & smaller, more intimate venues, that in itself is a strange statement as it’s still insane to be able to say we are seeing the Pixies at all.

I come from that unfortunate generation that was too young to see their original go around when they playing small age restricted clubs who waited 12 excruciating years waiting for the impossible to happen & when the reunion did actually take place in 2004 you bet your ass I was at Coachella up front.
I mention that show & a few other times I’ve seen them since outdoors, ACL that year, Voodoo in New Orleans the next etc but those shows didn’t feel unengaged, they felt like you were still witnessing history. Now that it’s 2018 & Kim Deal is gone (& for some it’s no Kim = no Deal) & they are essentially opening for Weezer & a modest slot it’s difficult to know exactly how to react. This says nothing about the band’s ability to deliver as I just saw them headline a small theatre last year & it was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.

The Pixies performed on a stripped-down stage with no pyrotechnics or screen with flashing images which was perfect & in stark contrast to what was to come later in the evening. When Here Comes Your Man started its first few notes, standing had become a requirement if you wanted to see the show. Approaching darkness as the heat started to drop, crowd & band continued to loosen up to an explosive room screaming lyrics right back at them.

Setlist – 

Ed Is Dead
Nimrod’s Son
Where Is My Mind?
Winterlong (Neil Young cover)
Ana
Mr. Grieves
The Holiday Song
Vamos
Silver Snail
Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)
All the Saints
Here Comes Your Man
Gouge Away
Bel Esprit
Caribou
Hey
Gigantic
Monkey Gone to Heaven
Classic Masher
All I Think About Now
Debaser

As the amphitheater darkened once again and the crowd roared its approval, the curtain dropped to reveal Weezer on a set re-creating Arnold’s diner from the music video for Buddy Holly. Rivers Cuomo was front and center, adorned in a sweater and tie, with bandmates Scott Shriner, Pat Wilson and Brian Bell immediately jumping into their original breakout hit.

The crowd sang along word for word, not only to this song but every song, during the 75-minute set as Weezer played most of its much-revered Blue Album, skipping only three songs. It played with the same earnestness and heart that made the Blue Album the anthem for everyone who felt like the underdog as a teenager.

Weezer’s show was the exact opposite of the Pixies;, with streamers shooting into the crowd and three set changes that took them from the set of “Buddy Holly” to a mock-up of a suburban garage to an ’80s-inspired set, hanging cold metal designs ablaze in pyrotechnic glory that would look at home at a Van Halen concert. Cuomo changed into four outfits while performing. It was usually a simple jacket change, but the effort was there to create an experience for the fans.

Demonstrating the timeless appeal of Weezer and its poppy, candy-coated heartache brand of music. To put in perspective, someone who was 10 when Weezer’s first album released in May 1994 is 34 now, so people who were babies when the “Sweater Song” slipped onto the radio still found its message relatable.

Cuomo, in his awkward way (is it real or the greatest character ever played?), proved to be a more than capable showman — at one point jumping on a scooter and riding into the fans. He jumped on a stage where the seats met the lawn and played an acoustic version of Islands in the Sun for the screaming cheap seats.

As the night came to a close with the final song, Say It Ain’t So, the crowd was still in full attendance, no one taking part in the beat-the-traffic shuffle. Work or no work the next day, there was a shared feeling that leaving early might make you miss something, which is a rare feat to accomplish now. When the last words were sang and Cuomo made his hands into a ‘W’ to the audience, the packed amphitheater did the same.

Set list:  

Buddy Holly
Beverly Hills
Hash Pipe
Undone — The Sweater Song
Franks and Beans
A Perfect Situation
My Name is Jonas
El Scorcho
In My Garage
No One Else
Happy Together (The Turtles cover) (with a snippet of “Longview” by Green Day)
Keep Fishin’ (Brian on vocals)

B Stage 

Island in the Sun (Rivers solo acoustic)
Wonderwall (Oasis cover) (Rivers solo acoustic)

The Good Life
Feels Like Summer
Africa (Toto cover)

Encore: 

Tired of Sex
Say It Ain’t So

Helmet – July 4th – Gas Monkey Bar & Grill – Dallas, TX

Getting spoiled with Helmet shows in the Dallas area this year as this marks their second time this year & seemingly a handful in just the past 12 months (mostly at this very venue). the NYC legends returned once more for a special afternoon show in order not to compete with the evening’s festivities celebrating our nation’s independence.

This show was so loose & fun & the early start time & it being a holiday made it feel more like a private show than a tour stop (in fact I think it very well could have been, like the owner just wanted them here, or they were looking for a pickup date cause this show wasn’t announced to soon before the actual event). Running through tons of their classic material as well as songs from their most recent LP 2016’s Dead to the World.

At one point after the main set, it just became fan’s choice (& I’m gonna take a bit of credit for them treating us to Sinatra haha)
Good times & the perfect way to spend a Summer Holiday afternoon.

Setlist –

Like I Care
Life or Death
Driving Nowhere
Blacktop
Red Scare
Bad Mood
Renovation
Drunk in the Afternoon
I ♥ My Guru
Milquetoast
Give It
Bad News
Wilma’s Rainbow

Encore:

Unsung
Sam Hell
Sinatra
Turned Out
In the Meantime

Quicksand – July 25th – Gas Monkey Live – Dallas, TX

Let’s get one thing straight: The first 2 Quicksand LPs released between 1993 & 1995 had as big of impact on me as just about anything else. Couldn’t overstate the influence, joy & longstanding memories this beloved band of mine has brought me for most of my adult life.

Having them back in my life after 22 years is a gift & last year’s Interiors topped our year end list. I didn’t get to see their show last year, their first time back in Dallas in almost 20 years but was dissapointed to hear that guitarist Tom Capone wasn’t participating & sadly for the reasons why.

Was excited to hear they were returning, even as a three piece, but let me say this: It didn’t work & this show was very weird for me.
Here’s why: I don’t know if it’s a case of You Can Never Go Home Again (see Chainsaw Kittens) or that they were dressed more likely to attend a volleyball game (though I can’t blame them, it is Texas in July) or that they were going on so early etc – But this show felt almost like a cover band.

Once I got past the sheer excitement that these guys were in front of me again (as Quicksand) it felt more like a rehearsal to the show – I kept waiting (subconsciously) for Capone to come out to fill out the sound & add his imitable solos & riffs. Bassist Serge & main man Walter did their best to pick up the slack & for all intents & purposes it is Walter’s band but it’s sheer arrogance to think they continue this way.

Also, I’ve changed alot in 22 years – I had no idea how much they sounded like Fugazi in 1993 cause I was new to that band too then. It never occured to me how much Walter sounds like Ian Mackaye when he sings & seemingly purposefully so.
Don’t get me wrong, I love these guys & want them to succeed & love the new record & it wasn’t all bad. I found myself tearing up during Freezing Process & it brought a strong wind of nostalgia but largely this show was embarassing & unnecessary & I hope that will change & soon cause I can’t get these songs out of my head again.

Setlist – 

Head To Wall
Brown Gargantuan
Omission
Divorce
Freezing Process
Illuminant
Warm and Low
Fazer
Blister
Shovel
Cosmonauts
Under the Screw
Lie And Wait
Thorn in My Side
Landmine Spring
Dine Alone
Delusional

Photos – 

Roy Turner

I Love the 90’s Tour w/ TLC, Blackstreet & more (July/2017)

I Love the 90’s Tour w/ TLC, Blackstreet & more – July 29th 2017 – Verizon Theatre – Arlington, TX

One of my most beloved eras of music of any genre – the early 1990’s that spawned so much great Hip-Hop and R&B music.
Absent of violence and misogyny & tons of unnecessary cursing – just timeless, inspired songs that make you dance, laugh, think & feel good. Hard to not argue the current relevancy of the lineup & that most can no longer tour successfully on their own, but bring a bunch together and it’s a party and THAT’s the point. Now in it’s second year, this tour continues to ride a wave of nostalgia that’s usually always at it’s strongest in it’s second decade removed, it returned with a new lineup of some of your fave R&B, Hip-Hop artists from that magical time.

So for fun (& NO ONE should take this too seriously) I thought it would be fun to assign a rating system this year.
Now we are only really gonna be featuring bands that we haven’t covered before & the scores are your basic 1-10 system (everyone gets a 10 just for getting up there) and the scores are only compared to the other bands of the evening. Meaning, this isn’t an overall score throughout the universe or comparative to other acts of this genre of otherwise. In other words, let’s have some fun.

Snap = (3)

C+C Music Factory = (4)

So we went last year & they paired 8 acts down to 6 which was good for length & also potency & that also means that there was really no real stinker in the bunch. They also rotate the lineups depending on which city which is pays dividends to this tour.
So the only act I’d say that noticeably not as on par with the rest were the openers C+C Music Factory, a group I didn’t think I’d ever get to see live or still had the ability to perform.

But here’s the funny thing: To show how little I knew I never realized that Snap is an entirely different act with like NOTHING to do with C+C!
Their hit song The Power sounds so much like Gonna Make You Sweat that I thoughts it was all the same thing & was wondering why they came out separate.

However, that doesn’t change the fact that it was still as little strange that a female member of C+C came out solo & then after she left THEN Freedom Williams took the stage as the venue was starting to fill up.
Freedom joined C+C in the ‘90s as the group moved from a dance club fave to mainstream popularity with their breakthrough hits,& he performed both, along with a DJ.

Everyone who played prior to headliners TLC knew they were there to play their hit tracks and utilized their slotted 15 minutes accordingly. Maybe lacking some of the more energetic moves of their youth, but still doing the best the can with what they got.

Tone – Loc = (6)

Who doesn’t like Ton-Loc? He’s as irresistable as his two early 90’s hits Wild Thing and Funky Cold Medina.
His sense of humor & self-awareness & laid back attitude still in full display and he was getting down with the crowd, bringing a large percentage of the female audience up onstage with him.

Blackstreet = (9)

Sporting flashy black leather jackets to carry out their in-union dance moves, Blackstreet were the clear winners and in my opinion had it going on the most in spite of competing with TLC’s big budget stage show.
Yep, they did “No Diggity,” then they brought those roses out and created a “pick me” frenzy that had the ladies going bananas.

 

 

Naughty By Nature = (7)

Only my second time seeing these New Jersey legends live, the first time in a much more intimate setting where they joined me after for a great episode of TrickyKid Radio that you can stream right here.
Now in a much bigger venue in a more high profile setting they were truly in their element and came out swinging.

If I had any complaint at all is that they were the only act that seemed angry and didn’t seem to mind giving off a pissed off vibe which was totally out of place given the party atmosphere & all the acts where harmless and that appeal is why they were on this type of tour in the first place.

There was a slight break in order to get ready for TLC, the only act that night using a live band as part of their set, and when they finally came out, after multiple DJ spins of other hip-hop classics, and awkward ads for an upcoming hip-hop cruise the ladies, their band, and four dancers took the stage.

TLC = (8)

Whereas last year’s final act Salt-N-Pepa were the clear headliner, thanks to lit as fuck sets from Kid N Play and Rob Base it still felt like a collective reveue. This year with main act TLC (that’s two girl groups in two years leading the way, how’s that for girl power?) & their high-end production arena show (everyone else was playing it like a club) it truly felt like this was a TLC with just a bunch more openers than usual.

Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas looked fierce in their sleek black outfits, and they sounded even better. They went through all the hits, from “No Scrubs” and “Creep” to “Baby-Baby-Baby” and of course “Waterfalls,” with power. Their dancing was on point, with Chilli really bringing it in that department. The dance crew and band were ferocious, keeping the show jumpin’ until the end. They didn’t forget about their own deceased member, Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes, via an on-screen photo montage spanning their years together. They also did a couple songs from their upcoming new album, which touched on themes about staying true to yourself and issues like cyber-bullying.
Good times.