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1 pm, making my way to the front gates of Rock the Bells, I already felt an energy run through me as the sounds of Biggie echoed through the air. After picking up my ticket and passing through the minimal security, I entered the grounds and as Red 1 took the stage I looked around, getting a feel for what I was in store for for the next ten hours. The relentless blast of sun mixed with the marijuana haze that continually covered the crowd. The $7 beers being injested just as quickly as the free flowing water provided. After a couple minutes of wandering, I made my way closer to the stage to catch teasers of classic Rascalz tracks “Northern Touch” and “Top of the World”… Not a bad start.

After grabbing some much needed water, I met up with friends and proceeded to get as close to the stage as Chali 2na stepped up. This set blew me away…. Live band backing. A bass player that looked like he just fell out of the 80’s provided some of the most rugged basslines I’ve heard come out of hip hop. Chali 2na has a vocal flow that matched any of the sounds, whether they were funky or dark. Up next was Slum Village and although I haven’t listened to much of their stuff, I was really impressed with their set – still going strong despite two fallen members (R.I.P).

By this point the sun was starting to cook me, I’m really not a summer person. Begging for shade I made my way over to the small spot of covered area and crammed myself in with everyone else feeling the drain of the weather. This is where I would stay as Slaughterhouse played their set – I can’t lie, I’m not the biggest fan.

Up next was Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko, I was waiting for this. I made my way as close as I could get and as they tore through tracks like “Welcome To The Midwest”, “Riotmaker” and “Caribou Lou” (can you tell Everready is my favorite album) the energy in the crowd continually grew. Even prompting a couple girls flashing their tits…. With a little coaxing from Tech N9ne, of course.

By this point I was starting to get a little drained, I’m not a kid anymore and I could feel the sunburn forming on my neck and arms…. So back to the shade it was. At this point Supernatural busted out some of crazy freestyles, including a point where he was asking for objects from he crowd and proceeded to incorporate those items into the rhymes. Afterwards the other host B-Real came out and busted out a couple classic Cypress Hill tracks, that set the crowd a blazin’ (with energy and clouds of marijuana smoke).

Next was Common, another set I wasn’t too eager for…. So I proceeded to rest my already tired legs, getting ready for the next couple hours of standing I’d undergo. Common was better than I thought, even dropped a couple of freestyles incorporating Vancouver landmarks, which was nice.

After checking the set list, it looked as if Reflection Eternal wasn’t going to play – “Oh shit, that’s who I wanted to see the most” said one of my friends. As RZA took the stage, we became convinced that was the case.

RZA was fantastic, dropping both Wu Tang and solo tracks. The best part of his set was “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” performed by Ol’ Dirty Bastards son….. Not saying it was a particularly great rendition, but he was funny as shit. Even after the set he almost refused to get off the stage as they set up for Nas & Damian Marley. Even when told he had to go, he just went up to the DJ booth and started dancing around there. Classic.

Just when I thought it was going to be the last set of the night – stage set for the last performance, Reflection Eternal make their appearance…. Well, sort of. A 20 min set was a little disappointing, being that this was one of the acts I too most wanted to see. Fuck.

Oh well, I knew what was coming next and had been anticipating this all day. By this time I was pretty exhausted from the day long beating from the sun and heat, but the excitement gave me that burst of energy. As Nas stepped out and the music dropped, that rush filled my body and I felt as though I could go all night. The hour and a half long set from Nas & Damian Marley was simply amazing. Both artists dropping some solo sets, as well as combined. As I looked around, the entire crowd was on their feet, a sea of people jumping, dancing and singing along. Without a doubt this set made the day, as long and draining as it became. 11 pm, I leave with a sunburn, beaten legs and a new collection of memories.

Although artists dropped out a couple days before, including KRS-One (that one pissed me off a little), the show was pretty damn good… I’m already looking forward to Rock the Bells next year.

Tech N9ne – Welcome to the Midwest
Reflection Eternal – This Means You
Damian Marley and Nas – Road To Zion

Tags: concert