The Wu in VT

Published January 22, 2008

By Peter Casasa-Blouin

The most coveted hip hop ticket to come to Vermont since I have been here expired Tuesday evening when Wu-Tang Clan, sans RZA, performed at Higher Ground. This highly anticipated show sold out so quickly that the number of stragglers warranted another performance.

This was good for Vermont, but at the time it was not good for me. I was already nervous that I spent forty dollars to hear 8 Diagrams — a CD I wasn’t feeling and couldn’t sing along with. But as the day drew closer it dawned on me that I was about to see Wu-Tang. The first rap album I bought with my own money was 36 Chambers, and when I heard that RZA was a no show, I was confident they would play classics.

In fact, the second night, I cannot speak to the first, was one classic after another. And it wasn’t just collaborative hits but solos enhanced by the familiarity and power of the other members’ voices.

I got there late for some reason, and despite my poor position I was right on time. They were amazing, considering they were playing in Northern Vermont for the second night in a row after playing to sold out crowds in New York. But the energy was there especially while Meth and Ghost stood side by side on the edge of the stage encouraging every pair of hands- with or without cup- to throw up a W.

If I hadn’t memorized every song they played and been guilty of singing along, I would have had a hard time hearing. The power of the collective groups’ voice syncing on key words, drowned out the single artist while the bass did the same thing when the other voices receded. And as if Method Man had read my mind, he walked on the hands of desperately faithful fans to stand on the bar right in front of me and this forty year old fox.

After he stopped singing about how he got himself a forty and a shorty he threw his hat up in the air landing in front of the fox. She gave it back to him which amazed me. The music being loud I leaned in to ask why she did such a thing. She replied, “I’m a Vermonter.”

That struck me as I stood there watching Wu rip it as hard as I imagined when I heard their teenage voices follow samurai samples. I almost joked about her liking Wu-Tang and realized that even though Wu-Tang is for the babies- she was their age.

Wu-Tang is not the same group that made 36 Chambers or even “Chamber Music,” but the other night when Raekwon rapped in an overcoat and Method Man sang Old Dirty Bastard’s verse from “Da Mystery of Chessboxin,’” you could have fooled me.

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