I just saw Kanye's Glow In The Dark Tour last night at Nokia here in LA and it is all I can think about this morning. Definitely the best hip hop show I have ever seen. I won't spoil any of the surprises for folks that haven't seen the show yet, but please see it if you can. This is the kind of show that you will sit back in your rocker and tell your grandchildren that you saw way back in 2008.
Here are the rest of the Tour Dates for The Glow In The Dark Tour featuring Kanye, Rihanna, NERD and Lupe Fiasco:
04/24/08 Tucson, AZ McKale Memorial Center 04/25/08 Las Vegas, NV Red Rock Casino Resort 04/26/08 Albuquerque, NM Journal Pavilion 04/27/08 Denver, CO Pepsi Center 04/29/08 Oklahoma City, OK Ford Center 04/30/08 Austin, TX University Of Texas 05/01/08 Dallas, TX Superpages.com Centre 05/02/08 The Woodlands, TX The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion 05/04/08 Duluth, GA The Arena At Gwinnett Center 05/05/08 Tampa, FL Ford Amphitheatre @ State Fairgrds. 05/06/08 Miami, FL AmericanAirlines Arena 05/08/08 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena 05/09/08 Raleigh, NC Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion 05/10/08 Bristow, VA Nissan Pavilion At Stone Ridge 05/11/08 Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater 05/13/08 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Arena 05/15/08 Mansfield, MA Tweeter Center For The Perf. Arts 05/16/08 Hartford, CT New England Dodge Music Center 05/17/08 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center 05/18/08 Scranton, PA Toyota Pavilion At Montage Mountain 05/20/08 Montreal, QC Bell Centre 05/21/08 Toronto, ON The Molson Amphitheatre 05/22/08 Auburn Hills, MI The Palace Of Auburn Hills 05/23/08 Chicago, IL United Center 05/24/08 Chicago, IL United Center 05/25/08 Fargo, ND Fargodome 05/26/08 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre 05/27/08 Saskatoon, SK Credit Union Centre 05/29/08 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place 05/30/08 Calgary, AB Pengrowth Saddledome 06/02/08 Vancouver, BC General Motors Place 06/03/08 Portland, OR Rose Garden Arena 06/05/08 Reno, NV Reno Events Center 06/06/08 San Jose, CA HP Pavilion At San Jose 06/07/08 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center 06/08/08 Glendale, AZ Jobing.com Arena 06/09/08 West Valley City, UT The E Center 06/11/08 Minneapolis, MN Target Center 06/12/08 Moline, IL i wireless Center 06/13/08 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena
I don't know how many of you have checked out Muxtape yet, but if you haven't it's definitely worth a few minutes of your hectic day. Basically its a really simple site where users can upload a 12 song mix of any songs they wish, and share it with the world. People's "muxtapes" are shown randomly every time you go to the site, so you never know what you are gonna get.
A great way to find new tunes, check out some of my favorite Muxtapes below:
Check out this amazing mix of all early 90's dance hits from Saul Mojica.
There's nothing like a little CeCe Penniston to get you through Hump Day.
Also this mix contains Robin S- "Show Me Love" which I heard again in the club last Saturday night and I firmly feel is ONE OF THE BEST FUCKING SONGS OF ALL TIME.
Black Box - Everybody, Everybody Cece Penniston - Finally Madonna - Fever (Extended 12") Crystal Waters - 100% Pure Love Mariah Carey - Dreamlover (Def Club Mix) Saint Entienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart Salt 'n Pepper - Do You Really Want Me Deee-Lite - Power of Love Blondie - Heart of Glass Crystal Waters - Gypsy Woman Black Box - Strike it Up vs. Madonna - Vouge (Bette Davis Dub) Chic - Chic Mystique Robin S - Show Me Love Aretha Franklin - Deeper Love
Somebody say hoooooo! I just ran across these old tapes of Rap battles from 1982. This particular battle occured at the Harlem World between Grandwizard Theodore and the Fantastic 5 and Charlie Chase, Tony Tone and the Cold Crush Brothers.
As I listen to this I can't help but think how much FUN these dudes are having. They are just there to party, rep their crew and hopefully win the $800 at the end of the night by blowing away their competitors lyrically. No bling, no death treats directed at rivals and no trumped up dance moves to sell records. Just some old-school fun.
And yes, the audio quality here is not tip-top. These tapes were recorded in a noisy club 26 years ago.
One of my favorite new groups is Sweden's The Tough Alliance, whom I first heard about in the post-SXSW buzz this year. The duo makes what I can best describe as electro-pop, with a little hint of reggae/dub in the mix.
From Wikipedia- " Their live shows have also been given much attention in the Swedish media due to their unusual onstage antics which include swinging baseball bats and singing to recorded music. Their critics claim they glorify violence in general and hooliganism in particular, something The Tough Alliance denies."
Here are a few tracks from them, be sure to check them out on April 6th if you happen to live in Perth (what up, Perth!).
Most of you close to me know that the Digitalism's Idealism record was my favorite electronic album of last year (yes, even better than Justice, gasp!) I saw the German duo live for the first time last night at The El Rey and it was a killer show. Definitely worth checking them out if they come around your way. Here is a live set from their tour last summer to tide you over in the meantime.