Oh, man. What an awesome show. I didn't realize Dead Prez would be there, but they were pretty good. The only song I knew was Hip Hop. I saw the video for it a couple years ago on one of the many music channels I get and then downloaded the song (the same thing happened when Erykah came out). Big ups for a rap group having real subject matter instead of bling, ho's, and their dicks. And after reading the Amazon review, I found that the song Be Healthy is pro veg:

I don�t eat no meat, no dairy, no sweets
Only ripe vegetables, fresh fruit and whole wheat
I�m from the old school, my household smell like soul food, bro
Curried falafel, barbecued tofu
No fish though, no candy bars, no cigarettes
Only ganja and fresh-squeezed juice from oranges
Exercising daily to stay healthy
And I rarely drink water out the tap, cause it�s filthy...

I'll have to look into them further.

I could have done without Floetry. I have always thought the "songstress" Marsha Ambrosius had a good voice. Nothing against the "floetrist" Natalie Stewart, but half the time I was wishing she'd shut up so I could hear Marsha. I also had to pee really badly, so that could have affected my opinion. I was waiting for them to finish and cut the house lights on so I could see without stepping on anyone (and see to get back to my seat).

Erykah came out around 9:30 or 9:45. Actually, her band of 10 people did their introductions first. I swear, I thought MC Hammer was going to come out. First 2 dancers came out doing an African(?) dance sequence, then EB joined them. Pat and I were wondering if she was pregnant, then she did a head stand. I mean, she was doing things you don't expect a pregnant woman to do. Once she stood still long enough for my eyes to focus on her, it was obvious that she was quite pregnant - maybe 5-6 months at least.

She had these sort of interludes between songs where she would tell about each of the chakras - their color, meaning, and frequency. At one point during a particularly long interlude, I leaned over to Pat and said, "She must not know about the curfew." Like Chastain, the Fox has a noise ordinance curfew, which is 11:30pm I think. And sure enough, she didn't finish until after midnight.

But yeah, it was a fantastic show, and I'm glad I got to be there. As usual, I worried and over-analyzed for nothing. I was in the minority - probably 10-15% whites, but it was not a problem. It was just a new situation that I had to over-think and obsess about for a while.

On a side note, the friend who cancelled had a shitty time trying to sell her wares, and wonders if it's her karma. I told her, "yes it is, bitch." I was kidding of course. I was not mad at her. Luckily Pat is my new concert buddy. She sometimes gets tickets from her neighbor, who is a DJ, and can't always find someone to go with her. We're also going to Six Flags with our discounted gubment tickets, since neither of us can find anyone to go with us who likes to ride all the rides.

Friday Five:

1. What was the last song you heard? Young, Fresh & New - Kelis

2. What were the last two movies you saw? Happiness, Thirteen (DVDs - this does not count the movies I've seen bits and pieces of on TV.)

3. What were the last three things you purchased? Tofurkey slices, Veggy Slices (cheddar), Rising Moon Organics ravioli (spinach florentine)

4. What four things do you need to do this weekend? Take a load of clothes to the consignment shop, clean the inside of my car, clean the outside of my car, go to the grocery store. I did numbers 1, 2, and 4. 3 had to wait since Jeff was cutting a tree down in the front yard and spraying crap everywhere. And I wanted him to help me, since the car is so filthy.

5. Who are the last five people you talked to? Will (helping me try to figure out various problems with my work and home PCs (not my personal one)), Crandall, Rick, Dean, and Angela - all at work.