Multicolored lights spiraled around the darkened room as the crowd hypnotically bobbed their heads in unison. An ocean of hands forming W's waving in the air like tiny kites while hip-hop grandeur shot out of the speakers. Two large projectors plastered with faces and surreal animation flanked the stage where all eyes were locked.
For rap fans, it wasn't a bad way to spend a Wednesday night at UNH. On their collegiate tour, set up by Cartoon Network's [Adult Swim] and SCOPE, Wu-Tang Clan standout Ghostface Killah, opening act Witchdoctor and some assorted friends served up new favorites and old classics during their performance to a sold-out crowd in the MUB's Granite State Room.
A few technical difficulties marred an otherwise admirable performance from Killah, but for the most part members of the 600-strong audience didn't seem to mind. "They slugged and plugged," said junior Tim Rooney.
Opening his set with the fierce anthem "The Champ," Killah and his cronies blasted onto the stage with fire shooting out their asses. Unfortunate for their rump-flames, the beats were distorted and unclear which made it difficult to distinguish the song on melody alone.
Not one to let a few technical hiccups stand in his path, Ghostface bounced back in the next couple of songs, offering a particularly energetic performance of crowd-favorite "Be Easy," a song full of the playful ramblings Ghost is known for. Shortly after, more audio problems popped up, causing Killah to apologize for the poor sound quality of the beats.
"The music doesn't really sound too good up here," he told the crowd. "It's hard to feel it."
Ripping into "Biscuit," technical problems continued to be a hurdle but improved greatly for the songs after. Sound quality was just dandy for the remainder of the set, which included "Greedy Bitches," a cover of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's "Money, Money," Killah's 2004 hit "Run," and of course some older goodies such as "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthin' ta F' Wit."
Even though occasionally beats sounded more like caterwauling than hip hop, Killah and the several MCs he brought with him did all in their power to put on an engaging performance. His commanding stage presence coupled with shuffling and bopping antics could compete with the Harlem Globetrotters for sheer excessive flash.
Unusual for larger acts was the degree of audience participation that Ghost included in his set. About a half hour into the show six audience members were picked to come up on stage and compete in a rap battle royal against each other. Wannabe-MCs tried valiantly, but senior Nicole Speidel, dominated the mic as the only female contestant and came away victorious.
"I'm from New Hampshire, the 603 / After this, Ghostface will want to rap like me," rapped Speidel to an impressed Killah and a cheering crowd.
Tons and tons of ladies were invited onto the stage in the closing minutes of the night, drawing Killah and his crew's attention away from the crowd for a bit and instead toward the harem around him. The room's energy level seemingly dissipated a bit as a result of this; the fervent enthusiasm turned into idle staring as ticket holders not on the stage appeared left out of the fun. Some just left.
Witchdoctor, a relatively unknown rapper from Atlanta and opener for the night, put on an admirable show in front of a crowd that seemed somewhat resistant at first but eventually joined in on the fun. His brand of hip-hop is akin to a southern 50 Cent or Dr. Dre, and given enough exposure could fit well on the college playlist. Witchdoctor was joined on stage by several guest MCs, most notably Kujo from Goodie Mobb, which proved to be a pleasant surprise and a nice change from having the singular rapper bounce about the stage, no matter how skilled they happen to be.
Despite the technical hiccups in Ghost's set, fans seemed to come away with a good time. "He was pretty rad," said audience member Jake Quarrell. "He's always rad."
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