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Reviews: E-40 and Family 4 Life in Petaluma
Posted on Friday, February 13 @ 15:04:28 PST by Raze |
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On February 7, 2004 The Phoenix Theatre in Petaluma California hosted E-40's Gasoline Tour. The event was a team effort by Family Productions (e-40's exclusive booking agent) and NorCal Underground (a west coast premier concert production company). The duo had great success at this same venue when they brought the Too Short "Freaky Tales Tour" through and Saturday was no different. The Phoenix is a great venue for this sort of show, huge with a lot of flavor. The view of the stage was great from any viewpoint
, be it on the floor, the balcony or on top of either of the two quarter-pipe skate ramps that line each side of the dance floor. The walls are tagged up and painted with everything from the simplest one color tag to entire paintings of mushrooms and other Alice in wonderland themed drug references that gave the place a raw feel. It was the perfect setting for E-40, Family 4 Life and San Quinn. Family and Norcal had no problem packin' em in for this one. Doors opened at 7:45 and by 8:30 the place was already filling up with plenty of heads still lined up outside ready to shell out forty dollars for their ticket.
The most important thing about a rap show or any show, for that matter, is the sound. Often
times though, its overlooked. Mics go out, the vocals are too low to be heard over the beat, amps shoevery word of the performers' spit clearly and they were well complimented by the clean mids and highs. There could've been a little more bass but then, there can always be more bass. Overall the sound was top notch. Kudos to the sound guys for taking the necessary steps to make sure this was a great show.
The crowd had swelled to about nine hundred and fifty in the balcony and on the floor by the
time E-40 arrived. The feeling of anticipation on the floor rose to the balcony before one of the most influential fixtures of rap took the stage. Decked out in a green and white jumpsuit and standard bling around his neck, E-40 strutted out and quickly took control of the crowd. Demanding to know if the people had come to party Charlie Hustle got a resounding cheer to affirm that indeed, folks had come to do it big. 40 opened with "Sideways". After playing "Sprinkle Me" he moved on to some of the radio hits from Grit and Grind. He rhymed a few verses during the course of the performance but mostly just sang hooks from his classics. These included "Rep Yo City" which got the largest crowd participation of any song that night. The 707 area definitely "repped their city" when 40 water and his crew yelled Vallejo and 707. But, the most significant reaction came when he made mention of some of "our dead soldiers". First E had the people give it up for Lisa "left-eye" Lopez of TLC, Easy E, and Biggie Smalls. The fourth and final shout out made the whole building explode into cheers. Before the name Tupac Shakur had even left his mouth E-40 witnessed probably a thousand people screaming their love for his deceased friend and fellow musician. As far as I'm concerned it was the highlight of the entire show.
The other pleasant surprise of the night was Family 4 Life out of Napa. Yeah, you read it right.
Napa. The area may be better known for its wine than its music but if you ask Jalone, a member of the group who has a solo album out, he'll tell you. "Hip-hop lives in Napa." I believe it. I walked into the show and was half-expecting to hear some studio thugs with no flow, weak beats and nothing to say grunting cliché' lyrics about bitches and guns. Instead, I was treated to smooth, laid back grooves dressed with deliberate, intelligent flow. Family 4 Life performed a balanced mixture of infectious club jams like "One of a Kind" and serious tracks like "Anger". The set list worked well because it kept things funky without sacrificing substance. The crowd loved it too. Once several ladies started jumping on stage and shakin' it for the crowd it didn't take long for some fellas to follow. By the time they ended their set there must have been fifty people on stage with them. Family 4 Life knew a few of them but for the most part the mob were fans lip synching and dancing. Jalone and the other members of the group had no problem. They just navigated their way through the cluster of fans shaking hands and poppin' their collas.
San Quinn had a short set because of some trouble with transportation but the audience was
definitely into what they got to hear. It's unfortunate he only got 20 minutes to do his thing.
Family Productions and Norcal Underground definitely put on a good show. Family Productions is bringing the infamous Snoop Dogg to Reno on the 29th. So, you might want to check that out. Norcal Underground also has news about upcoming shows including and artists’ videos for free at ww.norcalunderground.com.
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Article Rating
Average Score: 4
Votes: 1
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