Twiztid, hed(PE), Potluck
The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA
$27
November 9th marked the third time I have made a trip to Atlanta to go to a live Twiztid show. It's about a 4 hour drive for me, and I always end up thinking that it's well worth the effort to get to their shows, despite the drive, the gas money and the hotel costs. I was particularly excited to catch this show since Abominationz had just been released and I wanted to hear their amazing new stuff live. My friend Krissi ended up going to this show with me as well, which was awesome since I go to so many shows alone these days! It was great to have someone to talk to in the car and hang out with!
When we arrived for the show around 7:30pm (after some rough Atlanta traffic...but what's new there) and had to park in a little lot about a block away from the venue since apparently something is being built in their old lot.
Odd hand stamps being given out at the door
Once inside, we both grabbed drinks and I headed up to the stage to see how close I could get. I missed the local opener Maverick the Ace, but was just in time to catch Potluck go onstage.
To be honest, I'm not that familiar with Potluck's music, though I did end up meeting them at the 2011 Gathering. Their set was really fun, and UnderRated did an awesome job with his fast rapping! I really enjoyed their set, and the crowd showed them a lot of love, repeatedly chanting FAM-UH-LY with them.
Once they were done, it was time for Lil Wyte. So at last year's Hopsin show in Nashville, Lil Wyte showed his ass something terrible to the Nashville Juggalos, so I wasn't happy at all to have to sit through his set. I didn't want to leave my spot since I was so close to the front, so I just stood there and flipped him off for his entire set. I didn't even dignify him with any photos since he's not worthy to be on my blog again. He didn't seem to get as good of a reception as he probably wanted, which I was fine with.
Thankfully, Lil Wyte soon left the stage and it was time for hed(PE)! I'm a big hed(PE) fan, so I was super excited to see them opening for Twiztid! The first time I saw them was at the Gathering this year where they played at the outdoor Freakshow stage, so I was also excited to see them in a small venue. When they took the stage, the crowd chanted their name and they were all smiles at the warm reception they got. Their set was awesome, and there were plenty of times when the crowd was bouncing enough to feel that familiar Masquerade floor bounce!
During Amerikan Beauty, he held the microphone out to the girl in front of me during the female part, and she sang the entire part back to him! She was so excited! I really love and respect hed(PE)'s music, and I think they are great at what they do. I could stand to do without the religious commentary at their shows, but besides that, I love their live shows and this one definitely didn't disappoint.
When it was finally time for Twiztid, the crowd compressed and the chanting started again. One fabulous thing about Atlanta Juggalos is that they seem to be pretty well mannered, and they don't go too overboard on the alcohol. No one likes for people to be drunk and belligerent, and thankfully that has never been an issue at any of the Atlanta shows I've been to. Everyone always seems to be happy and friendly, which is yet another reason that I don't mind making the drive there.
Soon, all the lights went out, and the speaking intro of Bad Side came on, followed by Madrox and Monoxide slinking their way out from behind the backstage curtain. But once they began to sing, they came out full force and never let up through the whole set. Where I was standing was off to the left of center, which was a perfect spot since they constantly swap sides through the set. One of them was almost always standing directly in front of me, which made for GREAT photos!
They sang a great mix of their best older songs as well as quite a few from Abominationz. Of course they sang Bagz, First Day Out and They Told Me, which seem to be favorites of theirs for live performance. But we also heard Triple Threat, Bella Morte, Krossroads Inn and Diemuthafuckadie among many others. And from Abominationz, they sang exactly the four that I would have expected...Bad Side, This is Your Anthem, Rep That Wicked and Lift Me Up...a great selection, though they couldn't have gone wrong with any of the songs from the album, IMO.
Probably my favorite shot of the year, right there!!
One song that I particularly loved was Murder Murder Murder. During Monoxide's part where he says "Again and again, and now she's screaming like I care," the beat dropped out and it was just him yelling into the mic and making stabbing motions at the ground. It was so intense and graphic, and the lack of sound aside from his voice just intensified that.
Monoxide looked absolutely maniacal at a lot of points, and his eyes and smile just looked possessed by the music. They are both such incredible performers, and bring intensity like that every single time they're onstage.
As the main part of the set wound to a close, they sang LDLHA-IBCSYWA and brought all of the VIPs onstage for a while. At the end of the song, all the VIPs were escorted off and Madrox and Monoxide went out to the barricade and started giving some daps and handshakes. Madrox ended up on my side of the stage and stepped out toward the crowd right in front of me! He slapped my hand, then paused for a few seconds, and everyone started to touch his arms or stomach as he stood there.
So I ended up with a quick picture of my hand touching Madrox on the stomach haha Once they went back onstage, they did their normal little comedy routine, with the funniest part being accusing Prince of having "little man syndrome" haha.
Madrox shows what you'd have to do to look Prince in the eye
They ended their time on stage by bowing to everyone who had attended, then heading backstage.
Once the show was over, I caught back up with Krissi and we headed outside. As we stood around chatting with a couple of local friends, I spotted Madrox pop out the side of the venue and head towards his bus. But then he stopped as a few people approached him and started to sign autographs. So Krissi and I very quickly decided to run over to him and see if we could greet him as well. He was obviously trying to go as quickly as he could so he could get to everyone in the area, so I just got my ticket signed, and asked if I could snap a quick photo with him. How awesome!!
Me with Madrox!
My signed concert ticket
They are definitely not known for hanging around and chilling with fam after their shows, so it was a fantastic, unexpected little treat to get to meet him for a moment. One guy was even so excited that he ran back toward his friends screaming "Oh my God! Guys! I just HUGGED MADROX!!!" It was too funny! After a few more moments, he ducked back inside his bus, and Krissi and I decided to head back to the hotel for the evening.
Once again, as I walked back to the car, I felt like every dollar I'd spent to get to that show was completely worth it! Gas, hotel, tickets, meals...totally worth it when the show you're going to see is THAT good! Twiztid are true showmen, and are so incredibly talented in both live performance and album production. Basically...Twiztid is the muthafuckin' shit :-) If you have the opportunity to get to a show on the Abominationz tour, do it! You definitely won't be disappointed! Whoop whoop!
