We’re going to stick to one song, one song only …
I kept getting texts from my boy, Allan A., during the day as I was covering a soccer game with bits and pieces from WATCH THE THRONE’S “N***** in Paris,” which kept cracking me up and all it did was get me more excited to see the show. Haha. I don’t even know what that means? No one knows.
Honestly, a little more intrigued to see Kanye West seeing as though I had seen Jay-Z in concert before. The tour was a big deal and I wanted to write the review as such. Honestly, there is no real way you can be disappointed if you go to a concert with two of the biggest monsters in music. As (almost) always, the photos were taken by Matthew Maniego, Brother-From-Another-Mother. We sat at an In & Out after the concert going through about 1,000 shots from the concert. Beforehand, Matt apologized and said he probably had FIVE decent shots from the concert. I said bullshit. And as we went through them, I was right.
Here’s a bit of the review:
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
By Julio Lara • Daily Journal Staff
Step one in evaluating the hip-hop masterpiece that was the “Watch the Throne” tour stop in San Jose with Jay-Z and Kanye West, is for everyone to admit that we have reached the proverbial peak and that there is nowhere to go from here but down.
Before you go and disagree, ask yourself if there is another pair of rappers on the face of the planet you would rather watch and listen to as they crank out hit after hit after hit? Screw rappers, how about another pair of musical artists?
You can’t.
The hype surrounding “Watch the Throne” revolved around that exact concept. In Jay-Z, you have the reigning king of all things rap — an artist whose collection of work has driven us to the point of where you must consider him as one of the most influential artists (not just rappers) of all time. And in Kanye West, you have a musical genius whose skill and talent make it impossible for you to hate or ignore him no matter how much you despise his arrogance.
Their status atop the music food chain alone made “Watch The Throne” one of the most anticipated tours in music — perhaps, ever. And it’s for that reason that you can’t evaluate their concert as merely two hours of hip-hop. Because, if you’re a fan of the genre, you’ve asked yourself on more than one occasion, ‘what would happen if?’
Well, we now have our answer.
Matt says that a second batch of photos are coming — and I’m telling you they’re worth the bit of the wait. So much of photography is getting lucky with the timing. Let’s say, we got super lucky with the timing (and the lighting). Here’s a couple. Click on it and it’ll take you to Visuals By Method’s Facebook fan page. Once there, you have to LIKE it. Because you do.
You can also visit Matt’s Blog … definitely worth a look. Promise.
I’ll be curious to see how people feel about the review. Hmm. OK. Until next time (Saturday).
Oh My July! 