The Final Chamber
The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
Legendary rap group is calling it a career after this last tour.
Wu-Tang Clan’s “The Final Chamber” tour made a stop at Toyota Arena in Ontario, CA last Friday, June 20. The rap generals from the slums of Shaolin rocked the I.E. for nearly two hours in what was a near-perfect set. Along for the ride were Run The Jewels (RTJ) to open an evening of unity through hip-hop.
The Good
Let’s start with the opening act, RTJ. They flamed the stage for 45 minutes, burning through as many of their hits as they could in that span. Songs like “Legend Has It”, “ooh la la”, “Run The Jewels”, “Gold”, and my personal favorite, “Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)”. No, Zach De La Rocha didn’t make a surprise appearance for that one. I didn’t expect it to happen in little Ontario, but I held out hope. I saw RTJ on their last national tour a couple of years ago when they hit a few cities around the country and performed each of their four albums on consecutive nights. The night I saw them was their final show in L.A., which was also the final show of the tour. They played RTJ4 front to back, and sprinkled in “Run The Jewels” and “Close Your Eyes” (no ZDR that night either. FML), but I missed out on their other bangers because I only made that one show. This time around, it was dope to hear those other bangers.
Outside of their excellent song selection, RTJ brings the same energy you hear on record to the stage. It’s frenetic at times, with the lights flashing and smoke swirling, and it’s always loud. RTJ are 2-for-2 in my book, delivering another stellar performance and setting the tone for what was in store: Wu.
WTC appropriately dropped 36 songs, a mix of classic Wu bangers and classic solo joints. Including this show at Toyota Arena, I’ve seen Wu live 5 times in the last twenty-five years—twice at the Roseland in Portland, a wonderful place to see a show, and twice at Rock the Bells. Those shows were hip-hop concerts. The Final Chamber was a mix of theater and hip-hop. RZA, the leader of the Wu, was the master of these ceremonies and the first group member to step on stage. He kicked a flow before introducing the other Wu rappers by means of verse. “Bring Da Ruckus” brought out Ghost and Rae, Deck and GZA. “Da Mystery of Chessboxin’” brought out U-God, Young Dirty Bastard (ODB’s first born son), and Masta Killa on stage with the rest of the crew. Of course, they saved Method Man for last and brought him out to do his thing on “Shame On a Nigga”. From there, WTC moved through other tracks from their first three albums while sprinkling individual tracks from each of the members solo projects. These are my highlights from that setlist:
“C.R.E.A.M.”
“Run”
“Criminology”
“Bring The Pain”
“Release Yo’ Delf”
“Triumph”
“Liquid Swords”
“4th Chamber”
“Cash Still Rules/Scary Hours”
These are some of my favorite Wu-Tang tracks. Twenty-six other songs they played were bangers, too, and one was “Gravel Pit”, a song I truly hate.
The Bad
Wu left a lot on the table in terms of their song selection. They went heavy with tracks from Enter the Wu-Tang and gave each member a chance to shine with at least two tracks each, and more for guys like Rae and Method Man. But I didn’t hear one track from Ironman or Supreme Clientele. WTF, WTC? Only two tacks from Wu-Tang Forever? “It’s Yourz”, “MGM”, “Older Gods” can get fucked? And the only song from The W was “Gravel Pit”? No “Jump Off” or “Shaolin Finger Jab”? They could have swapped out “Gravel Pit” for anyone of those other tracks, but a hit is a hit.
I also wonder why they didn’t use YDB for all of ODB’s verses or otherwise vocal contributions to some of the tracks. He pretty much rapped on four or five tracks, and none of them were “Brooklyn Zoo”. Shame on you!
All things considered, the Wu still put on a hell of a final show out here in the I.E., proving to the masses that Wu-Tang is Forever, motherfuckers.
“You will find only what you bring in.”
