I Want To Be As Free As The Spirits As Those Who Left . .

a.k.a The Common Concert Review.
Yeah, I'm a little late, but so what. A good time was DEFINITELY had by all. The show was at SOBs in lower Manhattan which over the past 5 years has become the premier spot for hip hop shows. This has happened not because it's a great venue - it's not, there are horrible sight lines, standing room only and getting a decent drink is like playing dice - mostly due to the unwillingness of other venues to book hip hop acts, or poor sound quality (I see you B.B. Kings) of the venue. For the most part, one really can't argue with shows at SOBS because the price is usually right for such an intimate (small) venue.

The opening act hit the stage at about 9. I can't remember son's name but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I almost feel sorry for opening acts in most cases because the crowd usually couldn't care any less that they are on stage. This cat wasn't bad (per se) he just wasn't all that memorable. He did try and had decent material that I am sure I would have enjoyed more had I been somewhat familiar with it. That last comment is minus that God-Awful Reggaeton (I know that's redundant) song that he performed with the help of his moreso unmemorable Dominican friend that appeared from the audience. Just as a quick aside, who is really listening to Reggaeton aside from 16 year old Puerto Rican girls in the Bronx?? I mean really, what entertainment or other value does this stuff have?? Is this really piff and I'm just missing out?? Someone please enlighten me!!!


Shortly after ol' boy was done with his set the man we all came to see hit the stage! Common (dressed "normally" - sweater, shirt and tie with jeans) came out with his drummer (Kareem Riggins who we'll all be hearing ALOT more about in the coming years, this cat has already produced some SERIOUS heat! See: Slum Village, Dwele and anyone else out of Detroit in the last few years that matter), Keyboardist (Omar, as seen on the road with The Roots), and DJ (Brooklyn's own DJ Dummy) and jumped right into the intro, "Be" from the album of the same title. The crowd was AMPED to say the absolute least. It's the mark of a true performer that can get the crowd excited with new material (you could argue that he did not do that in this case since I am sure most of the crowd had the bootleg of this album for a few months now). The baseline from the intro could make a quadriplegic get up and move, as could most of the beats from this album. Kanye did his homeboy good, real good!!!


For a guy that comes across so laid back, Common kept the energy on HIGH! The energy levels increased once special uninvited guest Mos Def and Talib Kweli hit the stage. The crowd erupted at what has been an extremely rare performance of one of my favorite songs, 'Respiration', from the Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are Blackstar album. The crowd mouthed every word of Kweli's solo banger 'Get By' and sang along with Mos Def during 'Umi Says'. Common then went into freestyle, then more cuts from Be including an appearance by Umar Bin Hassan of The Last Poets during 'The Corner'. The crowd didn't get as much of a taste of the older material as it wanted but he did make one young lady's night when he asked her to join him on stage for Come Close. He bought the show to an end with The Light (accompanied by ol' Dead Eye himself, Musiq) only to be bought back out for an encore that included his verse from De La Soul's 'The Business', 'Ressurection' and 'It's Your World'.


Overall, the night was A-Plus. I kicked it with the Cambodian Kufi Slapper and the drinks were right. The sound man did not need to be Lord Jamar-ed and the melanin-less members of the crowd (atleast the ones near me) decided to act right for the night.


Epilogue: In my humble opinion, the albums that Mos Def and Talib Kweli put out last year could have been released as a double CD called Contractual Obligation. I was not the only person to feel that these were less than the best effort but these artist. The Small Wonder was in attendance at this event and had ALOT to say about Mos Def!! After the show, I was fellowshipping with The Cambodian Kufi Slapper and the Small Wonder and The Small Wonder let it be known that she was not as impressed with Mos Def's attendance as most of the crowd was. At one point I recall hearing her say that she was about to be made the first non Harlem member of Dip Set based on how she was going to smack the fitted off of Mos Def's head. I was a little worried that things would get out of hand when Mos Def walked over and asked The Small Wonder if she had a light. She turned, looked deeply into Mos Def's eyes and sheepishly replied "No, I don't. Sorry." and giggled. Anti-climatic?? I know, it was worse in person.*


*This was all true give or take a lie or two.