Live Review And Photos: Rock The Bells - July 5, Molson Amphitheatre (Toronto)

Rock the Bells
July 5, 2009
Molson Amphitheatre

For pics from Rock The Bells click here...

It doesn’t seem like hip hop shows are meant to take place on a sunny Sunday afternoon, but that is how it went at the Rock the Bells Festival. With big hip hop names like RZA of Wu-tang Clan, Big Boi of Outkast, Reflection Eternal, EPMD, Mos Def and NAS playing with Damien Marley, it was a true gritty hip hop show despite the pleasant weather.

The Knux hit the stage around early, around 2 pm, and suffered from being one of the first acts. Most people were still arriving through the gates, and were more concerned with getting to their seats than listening to the show. This caused some problems, as hip hop shows are completely dependent on strong audience support. Yet they still got some force across in the end, finishing the set with a beautiful a cappella rap that was defiantly the highlight of their set.

Between the sets the MC’s for the evening, Pete Rock, Supernatural and KRS-ONE, would come out to make sure the crowd would stay pumped up for the next acts. They were probably one of the most impressive acts of the show, with constant free-styling between sets. They made sure that the downtime between sets wasn’t downtime at all. Without them the show would not have went down nearly as smoothly as it did.

Slum Village hit the stage after The Knux and walked on with a bang playing some old hits. They soon went into new songs that seemed to go over fairly well the audience. They also paid tribute to the late Jay Dilla, as well as the members of the band who were unable to make it into Canada. Unfortunately the crowd still seemed to be asleep, but it was still very early.

M.O.P. were up after Slum Village and immediately started out strong. They walked on stage to a sample of the Rocky Theme, immediately going in another sample of “Eye of the Tiger” which led to the start of their set. M.O.P. played hard and fast, making sure that everyone in the crowd started moving. The crowd finally woke up by the end of the set and they seemed to be prepared for a long night of hip hop.

Slaughterhouse was next on the bill with a crowd that was now finally up and ready, thanks to M.O.P. for the long night ahead of them. Unfortunately Slaughterhouse despite their energy played a mediocre set. It really wasn’t bad it was just really forgettable. There weren’t any memorable moments, or particular songs that stuck out. It resulted in the crowded dying down a bit from the excitement M.O.P. put in them. Yet the night was not over and there was still plenty of time for them to wake up.

After Slaughterhouse, Tech N9ne hit the stage, after a long introduction from the MC’s. He brought on nothing but pure energy to the stage with his mile a minute lyrics and constant dancing. There wasn’t a single point that Tech N9ne stood still. His first time playing in Canada, Tech N9ne played mostly off his newest album SIckology 101 with the real highlight coming from playing “Midwest Choppers” which brought the crowd back up to the excitement they had earlier. Overall it was a great set, and signaled a turn around for the festival.

K’naan was up next, after a quick break which was required to set up his band. The first musician to use a full band K’naan brought the house down with his own blend of organic smooth hip-hop. K’naan, being the first artist with a true tie to Canada, played a very heart filled set with much slower songs then had played yet in the festival. K’naan played one of the best sets of the night especially with a slowed down a cappella version of “Somalia” playing a tribute to his home country. It was a complete turn from what had been playing earlier but it went over smoothly.

With K’naan’s smooth set over it was time for Reflection Eternal. As soon as it was announced that HI-Tek and Talib Kweli were up next the stage everyone immediately stood up and ran to the front. From the start to finish everyone was moving. This is what the crowd had been waiting for from the get go. They brought complete and pure energy with a mile a minute lyrics and awesome beats. They were exactly what the crowd needed and they left everyone screaming for more.

Next on the list was Wu-Tang Clan’s razor sharp RZA. He walked on stage and immediately went into “Wu-tang Clan Aint Nothing to Fuck With.” Everyone in the crowd threw the Wu-Tang W in the air as soon as they heard the line Tiger Style. RZA opted to play mostly Wu-Tang songs, but did a few solo RZA songs as well. At one point he did a medley of a number of Wu-Tang classics from 36 Chambers. Right before the end of his set he announced it was also his birthday and everyone in the crowd in unison screamed their birthday wishes. It was a hard fast set that satisfied every Wu-Tang fan in the audience, and there were plenty.

EPMD went on immediately after RZA, with no break between sets. They brought back some old school songs that had everyone going crazy with excitement. EPMD had complete control of the audience. When they told the audience to throw their hands in the air, they did without any hesitation. They got everyone moving and dancing leaving no one unsatisfied.

There was a long gap between EPMD and the next act, Outkast’s Big Boi. In between the MC’s kept the audience going but towards the end they were getting antsy for Big Boi to hit the stage. When he did everyone immediately went crazy. Big Boi was the first to make use of the screens on the side of the Amphitheatre stage having the videos to his songs playing along with him. Big Boi played some classic Outkast, with hits like “The Way You Move” “So Fresh, So Clean” and “Sorry Ms. Jackson.” It was a change of pace with the funkier brand of hip-hop but it went over really well with the audience of defiantly the best set of the night.

After Big Boi was the surprise appearance by Mos Def. Mos Def took over for Common after a scheduling conflict did not permit him to be there. Mos Def took the stage with no introduction at all. There was a wait and then suddenly he was playing, and it took the audience by surprise. It seemed like it took a while for them to clue in that Mos Def had begun. His set was extremely disappointing, it seemed like he had no energy on stage, which could be because of lack of preparation. However the set took an amazing turn when Talib Kweli joined Mos Def on Stage to perform some Black Star songs. This caused the crowd to wake up as Talib Kweli brought all the energy that the set was lacking. It was a great sight to see both Talib Kweli and Mos Def on stage together for the first time in a while.

Finally the sun had set and everyone was ready for the final act of the night: NAS playing with Damien Marley. After a long-winded introduction NAS took the stage by himself to play a couple of classic hits. After a few songs Damien Marley took the stage and they performed a couple tracks from their upcoming collaboration album “Distant Relatives.” Damien Marley then played a few of his own songs by himself, as well as a couple of his father’s most famous songs like “One Love.” Shortly after NAS took the stage to perform together again. Damien once again left leaving NAS to his own devices, until the ended the night playing together once again.

Overall everyone left satisfied, the show went off without a hitch. The show had a great blend of all varieties of hip-hop. This was only the second time the Rock The Bells festival has come to Toronto, and everyone who attended will be marking down their calendars for when it returns next year. Hip-hop is one of the most powerful forms of music out there and the performers defiantly proved its power with this wonderful festival.

- Jay MacDougall