2000-07-06 - 22:49

Bow wow wow, yippie yo, yippie yay

Lesson learned on this trip: make sure to read all the parking-related street signs. Cough. Aaron, Sophie, Chris, and I made our Toronto trip on Tuesday for the Up In Smoke tour. We left fairly early, making it to Kingston for lunch by noon. Aaron was the man behind the wheel, while I took my spot up front, so I could man the CD player. Comparing this Toronto trip to my last, I must say that five hours in a car with cool friends having a lot of laughs feels like a lot less time than five hours on the Greyhound bus.

We made it to downtown Toronto by 3:30 and put enough money in the meter for two hours. First we hit the Eaton Centre, then we walked to the MuchMusic building (which Sophie enjoyed), and piled into Speaker's Corner. That was funny. Chris: "This is a message for my boss in Ottawa. I'm not going to make it to work tonight . . . I'm feeling sick. [cough] So, instead, I'm, uhh, gonna check out the Eminem concert." Heheh.

After that we walked to the CN Tower; but decided that we didn't have time to go up before the meter ran out. All four of us ended up piling into a rickshaw (I don't know what was up with that; but it was fun, in a silly way) and making half the trip back that way, before walking the rest.

So we're walking along, it's 5:30 . . . no car. Me: "Everyone agrees with me that this was the street, right?" "Yeah, for sure, I remember walking by here." Hmmmm. "It wasn't down this far, was it?" "I didn't think so." "I remember driving past there before we parked."

Okay, so we're in Toronto, the rental car has disappeared, and, along with a lot of CDs, our tickets are also in with our stuff. Shit. I must say, though, everyone held together well for a potentially panicked situation. Aaron and Chris checked another couple of blocks up the street, while I called the police. Of course, I didn't have the plate number, so they couldn't tell me if they picked up the car. So, they gave me the address of the impound lot . . . which was directly back in the direction from which we'd been walking for the last half hour. D'oh!

So, we all had to trudge right back west, pondering two scenarios: was the car picked up by the police or was it stolen? Presumably, the former was more likely; but the latter warranted some concern. Eventually, though, we found the place and there was our Intrepid. (And there was much rejoicing.) And, as it turned out (drumroll, please), it was No Parking 4:00 to 6:00. D'oh!

I found the woman who worked there a little snarky. Just because you're in the business of hauling peoples' cars away and charging to give them back, doesn't mean that you should ignore customer service. I also found it odd that the place had all these pictures of seized cars posted on the wall. What was that, the impound lot's greatest hits? In any event, we plunked down the cash and got outta dodge. So, it was 6:15, we'd lost some time and money; but what the hell? Life was good again.

Of course, by that time, traffic leading to the place was nuts; but we found a parking lot and made our way to the show. Pushing 16,000 people through the gates naturally took some time; but we made it to our seats with all of five minutes to spare before the concert started. As an added bonus, Row AA (where our seats were) is actually in front of Row A, making it the front row in the entire section. We had five feet of empty space between us and the railing. Sweet! Okay, concert review time:

Tuesday's Up In Smoke tour assembled the best hard rappers--Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, and Eminem--on one stage; and the result was very impressive, indeed. The kickoff to the event was very cool. A crane grabbed a large ice-blue cylinder from the top of the set and plunked it down on centre stage; and Ice Cube came out. Along with his two mates from the Westside Connection (Mack 10 and W.C.), Cube put on a very good performance. He initially left the stage after three songs, prompting Mack 10 and W.C. to lead the crowd in a rousing chant of "Fuck you, Ice Cube!" It was silly, but funny. It's along the same lines of the which-part-of-the-audience-is-louder bit (which Cube and crew also did); it's goofy, but fun if you go along with it.

And the crowd definitely went along with it. Even for Cube's 7:30 opening set, practically every one of the 16,000 who packed the Molson Ampitheatre was standing. A concert is so much better with an energetic crowd. Cube rapped for about 45 minutes, ending with fellow N.W.A. alumnus, MC Ren. A funny host took care of the changeover time between artists; and then it was Eminem's turn.

I have to say that Eminem, who performed with Proof, was a disappointment. Although he rapped well and he has good material on which to draw, the main problem was his tendency to stop his songs halfway. In the first fifteen minutes, he probably crammed in six half-songs. I would've preferred it if he had stretched out the set, especially since his total performance only took him a shade over thirty minutes, at best. The giant inflatable hands (middle fingers raised, of course) that flanked the stage were funny; and the songs had a good energy level. Overall, though, I felt that he could have done more.

The two headliners on the bill, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, shared the stage, mixing classic material with tracks from Chronic 2001. Their stage presence is what made the concert worthwhile. The two were in complete control of the crowd; and they were definitely having a great time. I'd call their stage the most elaborate set I've seen at a concert. They opened with a five-minute movie and they punched up the experience with the use of pyrotechnics, a car that they drove onto the stage, and a giant talking skull.

All that sizzle enhanced the excellent rapping and crowd control that Dre and Snoop exhibited. The Up In Smoke tour was the first rap show that I've ever attended; and Dre and Snoop proved to be on par with the best artists that I've seen. The crowd was very into the engaging show, singing along and having a great time. Xzibit, Eminem (who proved himself able to take two consecutive songs to completion), and a few other guests rounded out the set. Inevitably--with Dre, Cube, and Ren together--the night ended with an encore reunion of N.W.A., with Snoop filling in for the late Eazy-E. The boys kicked out a new song, "Chin Music." Although I would've rather heard one of the classics ("Straight Outta Compton," perhaps), it was a fitting end to a spectacular show.

All in all, the Up In Smoke stop at the Molson Ampitheatre was an amazing concert, with some great music and a killer stage set, played in front of a wild, loud, appreciative crowd. Great fun.

I have some more to write; but I don't want to cram any more into this entry. Suffice it to say that life is going well; and that I had a great time witnessing a stellar show with some good friends.

J.