_{Wu-Tang by Morgan Keuler}

I just got back from the Wu-Tang show, and it was great. I’ve never seen them live, and since they were announced on the Bumbershoot bill a few months ago I’ve been hoping for the best, but expecting the worst. Tonight, the much-rumored tension in the group was apparent.

As the Wu blasted through their catalog &mdash sneaking in brief snippets of classic cuts from Raekwon and Gza, and pausing for an awesome 10-minute ode to ODB &mdash Method Man repeatedly stole the show. Meth played the hypeman role all night long, filling in on most of ODB’s verses, and he tore through a couple of his solo tracks which seemed to re-energize the crowd. Meanwhile, Raekwon and Wu hanger-on Cappadonna lurked on the periphery of the stage, almost fading into the background.

Rae and Ghost are, depending on the day, my two favorite Wu members (Immobilarity and Bulletproof Wallets notwithstanding) and I was a bit disappointed by Rae’s minimal presence and Ghost’s absenteeism. I saw Ghost earlier this year at the Showbox and he was a monster.

I’m sad to say I accurately predicted Ghost’s absence after I heard he’d gotten a separate bus while the group was on tour. Tonight, his presence was sorely missed..

Even with nearly a third of the crew MIA, the Wu still put on a great show. I’ve heard horror stories about sloppy shows, with members forgetting the words to their verses or stepping on each others lines. None of that was apparent tonight. Hopefully they can get their shit together for their new album, allegedly dropping in November.

I don’t think I can take another Iron Flag.

(Confidential to Grandy: Art Brut got served.)

UPDATE: I’ve been informed that Gza wasn’t in attendance either. Weird. I swear I heard them do at least 2 songs off of Liquid Swords. Also, it would’ve been great to see the Wu perform with the lower-key El Michaels Affair. I feel like an old man for saying this, but the bass pretty much drowned out the first half of the show.