Ghostface Killah w/ Adrian Younge’s Venice Dawn – 12 Reasons to Die Tour ATL (Photos x Recap)
If you want to see some ecstatic white kids wasted-er than they’ve ever been in life, the 12 Reasons to Die Tour is the perfect place. But seriously, Ghostface & Adrian Younge’s Venice Dawn put on a phenomenal performance at Terminal West – one complete with plot, costumes, choreography, and memorable music.
Personally I’m not a fan of rapping over live bands, except in this case. Most of times the combination of screaming obscenities, clanking drums, out-of-tune guitars and off beat rhythms sends me to bed with a whirling headache. However Venice Dawn has mastered fusing fine instrumentation with the heart of hip hop. Each of the members, alongside Adrian Younge, possess their own showmanship while engaging the audience with skills, variety, and visual entertainment. There have been some previous negative reviews about the chemistry between Ironman & band, however the kinks must have been smoothed out because this show was flawless. Maybe it’s because the Atlanta stop was towards the end of the tour (the final show is tomorrow in Austin).
Reading fan commentary from other cities, some people complained Ghost didn’t spit enough of his early Wu material and focused too much on the new album. I disagree. We were blessed with “4th Chamber”, “Daytona 500″, “After Laughter Comes Tears”, and a tribute to ODB (complete with a guest appearance from Osirus’ slightly short-bus son.) Probably not super necessary to mention, but Killah Priest was hype-manning for the evening, clearly working off a hefty plate of fried food from earlier in the day.
It’s 2013 and the tour is for the new album produced by Younge, so expecting Ghost rocking his old discography will leave you slightly disappointed. But honestly, this show would be worth much more than a Tony Stark’s solo set. While there’s still some development desired from Younge & his accomplices, their opera-like renditions were hugely enjoyable. Even the opening act, The Difference Machine, was on point.
Check out more photos below, including some alochol-induced selfies of me & my friends. (Instagram credits: @realdurtyd, @3clopsi, @speakeasypromo, @dillonmaurer)
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