Having been a student at Newcastle University for 3 years now, and in my final year, to have hip hop acts come to the North East is a surprise in and of itself. A hip hop muse, like The Genius, coming to Newcastle seemed too good to be true. I have been a long-time listener of Wu Tang, maybe not as long as those born in the 90s, but it was a sound I found in my teenage years when I was coming out of my own indie listening phase. After watching countless interviews and performances I wasn’t alive to witness – a sentence some old heads may struggle to read, it was out of my mind that I would someday see pioneering MC GZA.
After going through many “sorry, it’s Valentine's Day” replies from friends with more important plans, I managed to find someone willing to spend his day watching the GZA take the stage. After taking advantage of a local burger deal at a favourite pub of ours, and maybe a few too many Guinnesses, we hurried down to the boiler shop to try to catch a glimpse of the mystery support act (one we couldn’t find any information on). As we entered, I watched as middle-aged men greeted each other in the queue, shouting “I knew you’d be here, mate!”. Clad in Wu-Tang merch, some looking more authentic than others, the crowd was a mixture of those who would’ve grown up during the peak of Wu-Tang’s career, and those closer to my age who didn’t quite have the luxury of that. After spending a painful £5 on the photobooth to commemorate the evening, and maybe also because of Guinness-induced inhibition, we walked towards the stage where the support act Kay Greyson was making her introduction to the crowd.
“Make some noise if you’re with a sexy person tonight” Greyson shouted to the crowd, before saying “make some noise if you are your sexy person tonight!”, getting a lot more response from the crowd. After a few songs I hadn’t heard of, and a crowd nodding approvingly, the performer had made the stage her own, even if it wasn’t completely in line with the 90s sound we were waiting to hear. “We have a hip hop legend in the building tonight, do you guys know that?” Greyson exclaimed, to a warm buzz from the crowd who, obviously, did know that. After a few more songs, Kay Greyson left the stage at 8:30 after a 30-minute set, and we were then left with a soundtrack of the likes of LL Cool J and A Tribe Called Quest.
“make some noise if you are your sexy person tonight!”
Admittedly, this is probably where the evening took a bit of a turn. After many “he’s gotta come on now, right?” every 15 minutes, and disappointment every time a new sound guy came on with a new microphone and a screeching noise ensuing, the built excitement had worn off and you could hear fellow fans frustrations. After a long, excruciating 75 minutes, and many questions about whether we had time to get another pint, the band, the Phunky Nomads, took to stage. Including Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s brother as the drummer, the Phunky Nomads bounded on with energy that revived the crowd from their slight slumber. After doing their introductions, and an introductory cover of Jerry Lordan’s 'Apache', GZA finally graced the stage. Admittedly, GZA made a rather low-key entrance to the stage, but the crowd was happy (and probably relieved) to see the hip hop legend we had been waiting for.
Opening with his hit ‘Duel of the Iron Mic’ from his critically acclaimed album ‘Liquid Swords’, his strong lyricism could’ve been overlooked, with some technical difficulties making the electric live band drown out GZA’s vocals. By the time the Wu-Tang part of the set came, this had been fixed, but audio issues seemed to remain. This may be due to the Boiler shops' acoustics, mainly its high ceilings. Since the boiler shop was designed for steam engine production in the 19th century, its structure doesn't bode the best for stereo sound production, and while I had been here a few times before, I had never been here for a hip hop gig (synonymous with bass and low frequencies). There were many concert goers queuing to reprimand the sound engineers, something I’d never seen at a gig before. Unfortunately, the boiler shops challenging room meant we were looking for a ‘sweet spot’ in the crowd for a while, and finally found a spot in the middle back that seemed okay.
With the first half being a mixture of star shock of being in GZA’s presence, then trouble hearing the vocals, the second half seemed remarkable in comparison. The live band really made the performance intoxicating, with heavy bass lines and a talented violinist, I found myself really zoning in on the instrumentals. Hearing Liquid Swords songs like ‘Shadowboxin’’, ‘4th Chamber’ and ‘Cold World’ with a live band was phenomenal. GZA’s energy seemed to ebb and flow throughout, with strong performances of songs like 'Clan in da Front', while a bit less engaging performances of songs like ‘Publicity’. In fear of being too critical, I had anticipated not to expect a performance comparable to that in the 90’s, but GZA seemed to put on a solid performance despite sound difficulties. After having toured with Wu-Tang and Nas at the end of 2023 for the NY State of Mind tour alongside another European tour of his own, it would be reasonable to say his performance was still electrifying, even if there wasn’t a huge stage presence.
Some clear highlights of the performance were within the second half, with a cover of ‘Shimmy Shimmy Ya’ by the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard, and 'C.R.E.A.M.', both songs bringing the crowd together. This was definitely aided by sound issues being resolved as best they could, and the excitement that erupted from hearing classic Wu Tang Clan hits in the flesh. Some more highlights consisted of ‘Protect Ya Neck’ and (the final song) Liquid Swords. GZA really came to life and let his lyricism shine through, with RZA’s production being eloquently carried by the live band.
Unfortunately, since the show had started 45 minutes late and the 11pm curfew enforced, they skipped their traditional encore of ‘Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit’. Hustling out of the venue, we had mixed feelings from the evening, but after a night full of relatively cheap drinks and the company of one of the greatest lyricists from the 90s, we went home happy. Our main takeaways were GZA still has it, and to bring ear plugs next time.
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