Concert Review: Rock the Bells, Chicago
First Midwest Amphitheater
2009-07-10
By Adrienne Samuels Gibbs

The “all day long, all day strong” concept is the best thing about Rock the Bells. Since the concert tour’s 2003 inception, this annual full-day celebration of hip hop music has only gotten better with time.  To see Talib Kweli, The Roots, K’Naan, Tech N9ne (in full white face paint!), Busta Rhymes, Raekwon and Damian Marley at the same concert is a sweet summer treat. Granted, it took all day and it was hot because the festivities took place in an outdoor amphitheater. But if you’re going to spend 10 hours at a concert, this is the way to do it.

KRS-One as host was a necessary crowd-pleaser because many of the lesser-known acts how the whole live performance thing to work out still. However, the setting sun brought the big boys to the stage. Talib did a 30-minute set where he rapped his latest and greatest, but his performance felt small. I’ve frequently seen Talib perform, but I do prefer to see him on a smaller stage in a more intimate venue.

While Talib was on the main stage, Slum Village then Raekwon were on asmaller stage near the entrance of the theater grounds. I had to run around a bit to hear both performances. Obviously, time was a consideration, but I wonder why the promoters, Guerilla Union, didn’t have them all perform in the same space? Many fans had to choose between Raekwon or Talib, an awful decision to make after you’ve paid money expecting to see both. Some complained that this wasn’t a fair set up for true fans and most asked why Common didn’t show up to perform on his own turf (he wasn’t slated to perform on this leg of the tour).

Meanwhile, Big Boi got the crowd dancing and jumping and in between each act – a heavy dose of Micheal Jackson music. But the best part of the day was near the end, with The Roots giving yet another stellar, 30-minute, live performance. Of that, I most enjoyed Quest’s drum tribute to Michael Jackson, “Star” and the trembling bleats of that beautifully shiny sousaphone played by Damon “Tuba Gooding Jr” Bryson. Busta Rhymes then exploded on stage as only he can, giving a full-on performance which included teasing the crowd with 40-second snippets of his best cuts, including “Scenario,” “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” and “Make it Clap.” With high energy and nearly 45 minutes of platinum songs, Busta and best friend Spliff were the crowd favorites that night. I wasn’t surprised to see that his performance was dedicated to MJ. Damian Marley, as expected, was a bundle of energy on stage and flung his ankle-length dreadlocks to the beat of every song. He sounded good, he worked the crowd, his presence was pleasing. It was a perfect way to end the evening.

Click here to see photos from the 2008 Rock the Bells Tour 

Adrienne Samuels Gibbs is a senior editor for Ebony magazine. Find her on twitter at AdrienneWrites.