When the news hit that American hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan would be bringing their reunion show to Toronto for a free concert, fans rejoiced.
It seemed as simple as visiting neverjaded.ca, entering your birthdate, filling out an RSVP and waiting for a response. For the lucky fans who received an invite, it was a night to remember. The event, held at Toronto's Rebel was clearly not at capacity, but it was a great opportunity for cannabis company Hexo to get their name in front of a very large group of very happy people.
There were images of their hashtag #neverjaded, strategically placed, there was an awesome tagline being projected on screens, included the ceiling above concertgoers, and it was beautiful.
We're not going to talk about the controversy, we're barely two weeks away from legalization here in Ontario, and while promotion of this kind may fall in a grey area, we're pretty happy that Hexo brought Wu-Tang to Toronto. And we're very happy that they all made it across the border.
We're here to talk about the music. There was already music playing when we arrived, and the hype men and DJ were working hard trying to get the crowd warmed up. Running a little bit late Peter Jackson hit the stage with DJ Young Legend for a very short set, seemingly cut short so that the Wu-Tang portion of our evening could start on time.
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A hip-hop show starting on time, and all of the living members of Wu-Tang coming together to play their 1993 debut album, 36 Chambers in its entirety, what kind of wizardry was this?
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I have to admit that when Bring Da Ruckus started, I got goosebumps, and what followed was spectacular in the truest sense of the word. After 25 years in the business, making an entrance is something that comes naturally to them. Taking turns hitting the mic, we heard from RZA, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, Masta Killa, GZA, Method Man, Cappadonna and taking his late pops' parts, was Young Dirty Bastard.
It was a little surreal, and a tad overwhelming, but in the best possible way. There was so much to process. For the second half of the show, after completing 36 Chambers, they took turns delivering songs, solo and group tracks. The audience was 100% all in.
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One of my favourite moments was when RZA first flashed the iconic W. But there were many, many moments - Method Man crowd surfing, RZA passing out Patrón and Grey Goose to the crowd, and showering them in Moet, there was W-shaped cake, and YDB jumping off the stage and heading into the VIP area delivering his lines.
What could have been a publicity stunt was anything but. It was 90 minutes of pure entertainment, and we'll be talking about it for some time.
