Live @ Pyramid Cabaret, Winnipeg
July 6, 2016
First
ICP Winnipeg show in living memory. As a fan in my youth who has fallen
off of late I couldn't allow myself to miss this opportunity. Finally
the clowns have sorted out the criminal issues that have made crossing
the border so troublesome in the past. The mindset going into this show
was decidedly optimistic.
Juggalos
chanting 'family’, face painted clowns roaming the streets for blocks
in every direction. Definitely the scariest crowd at a show I have ever
seen, up there beyond Kid Rock or Dauphin's infamous Countryfest.
First
act on is a rapper hailing from Fort Frances. Not sure where exactly
that is and didn't catch the guy’s name, but googling suggests he is
Brok Homz of the Ontario Fort Frances. He wears a mask of the sort you
see in the film You're Next or worn by WWE’s Wyatt family. I have now
seen two masked rappers live in my life, and safe to say this guy is not
quite on the level of MF DOOM. Backing track suggests the sort of
standard horrorcore fare favoured by Psychopathic Records, but the
performance seemed like it didn't do the studio work justice. Out of
breath and lacking energy, Homz spent nearly as much time on water
breaks (while the beat is going) as he did rapping. Mostly focusing on
repetitive hooks, when it came to the verses he was the hype man to his
own track, mostly coming in at the end of his lines rather than taking
charge and rapping the full bars. Not sure if this was an off night or
if the guy is new to performing live, but it seemed clear he has some
work to do if he wants to entertain at this level. Even a presumably
easily pleased crowd of Juggalos seemed largely nonplussed. To be fair,
the mask stayed on all night so apologies to the real Mr. Homz if this
was an imposter.
Drezden
and his hype man took the stage like Jay Z and Kanye West by
comparison. Full of excitement and confidence, they put on a full set of
what I would consider the typical modern Winnipeg hip hop sound. Nice
to see an act like this get a chance on a fairly high profile gig. I
didn’t catch the hype man’s name, but I did share an awkward fist
bump/handshake with him on the sidewalk afterwards.
At
this point we have already been at the show for about two hours, three
hours past the doors opening time. We have seen a 15 minute set and a 30
minute set. Time for a rare Molson Dry, the cheapest can of beer on the
menu tonight. Shortly after the first sip a foreboding announcement is
made: Violent J is in the house, but Shaggy is not. Shaggy is getting a
flight from somewhere as we speak, and is expected to arrive at the
venue for 1230-1245. Uh oh.
With
Filthy Animals on next and a lengthy delay sure to precede them, we
determine it is time for a coffee. Across the bridge to Tim Hortons for
that and a muffin, and to kill an hour or so with the free Wi-Fi.
Arriving back at the venue around 1145, Filthy Animals are entering the
final phases of their performance. One of the great mysteries of the
Winnipeg music scene is how these guys end up opening for just about
every rapper of note that comes through town despite having seemingly
zero following beyond the walls of this building. I never see them
putting out records or doing headline shows or anything, yet somehow
I’ve seen them three times despite making no effort on my part to do so.
The city is practically saturated with competent acts in this genre,
many of which surely have at least as large a following. Why not try one
of them some time? At least we got Drezden.
Following
Filthy Animals, the VIPs line up for the meet and greet they have paid
extra for (at $55 just to get in the door this is not a cheap gig as it
is). Following a series of sporadic progress updates, we are told that
Shaggy has finally arrived at the venue shortly after 1am. Time to kick
off this party, finally!
Nope, time for the meet and greet. We peasants who have merely paid the general admission price wait and watch as the VIP line slowly and painfully inches towards the backstage curtain where ICP hides. Occasional camera flashes are the only evidence we have to determine if the duo are in fact present. This VIP procession continues for about an hour. Through all this, the crowd is getting restless. Chants heard include “what the fuck”, “this is bullshit” and “money back.” Finally, some 3 hours after we would reasonably expect the show to start ICP reveals themselves. We stayed for 30 minutes but by this time anticipation had turned to annoyance and the exodus to the exit had to be enjoined. From what I saw they played exclusively early tracks, nothing less than a decade old, which is to be expected and appreciated for what is effectively (if not also literally) their first ever concert here. The usual clown entourage with Faygo hijinks. Those who did not have to work the next day surely enjoyed themselves, but for me this is the last time these clowns get my money.
