Stern, firm and (no longer) young with a laid-back tongue

My favorite hip-hop group of all-time A Tribe Called Quest reunited for the first time on stage Monday night at Bumbershoot 2006. It was a concert full of nostalgia, beats & hopping to the hip. Greg joined me about 20 yards from the stage in front of the stage-left speaker. The spot-lights indicated the show was about to start, the crowd erupted as Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad came out on stage. They embraced and DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad took his place behind the wheels of steel for A Tribe Called Quest's first show since 1999.

Since my family didn't have cable, in Junior High & High School I used to set the VCR to tape a rap video show that would play Saturday nights at 2AM. That's when I first heard Tribe back in '91 after I saw their video for "Check The Rhyme". Sold. The beat, the skill on the mic from Q-Tip. I was sold. The Low End Theory still is one of my Top 5 Desert Island Discs, and my favorite Hip-Hop album of all-time.


Last night, Tribe looked their age, but sounded the same as they did in '91. Q-Tip still had the flow, Phife Dog showed no rust, and DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad scratched with the best of them. But I specifically mention their age because they only played a 45 minute set, followed by a less than 7 minute encore featuring a medley of "Check The Rhyme", "Scenario", and "Award Tour". In short, it was short. But overall, it still remained a great concert experience that was high on energy and full of classic joints.

But the length was severely lacking. In my 15+ years of attending Bumbershoot I never remember a final night band playing a shorter set. I mean, Atmosphere went on before Tribe and played a full one hour set, joined on stage with the up-and-coming fellow Minnesota native Brother Ali. Ben Harper played for 3+ hours in 2000. And they can't blame age either, because in 2003 Greg and I saw the then & now ancient R.E.M. bust out a 2+ hour set. Oh well. Tribe still has it. Hopefully they'll come back around on a national tour and play at the Showbox with a much longer set. First time back, I'll cut 'em some slack.