I learned two things at last night’s Ghostface concert in Houston:

1) Wu-Tang’s first Houston concert ended with the clan getting chased out the building
2) Ghostface live > Ghostface on wax

Ghostface blessed Houston with his gritty and witty brand of hip-hop, while promoting his upcoming Big Doe Rehab LP (out Dec. 4). Midway into the show, he paused for a moment and took us on a journey down memory lane. The year is 1992 and the Wu is performing “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthin’ to F*ck Wit” at a tiny club in H-Town. RZA passes the microphone to a young man in the audience. The concertgoer boldly instructs: “Yo get the f*ck outta here with that bullsh*t” and hands the mic back to a bewildered RZA.

Seeing as the Clan did not heed his advice to exit the stage, the heckler angrily throws a drink at RZA. RZA returns the favor. Everywhere goes beserk. Long story short, the crowd chased Wu-Tang out of the club, as all nine MCs and their entourage scampered to their tour bus and sped off while dodging rocks from the angry mob. That’s all good, because Ghost “still got love for Houston.”

Stories aside though, Pretty Tony brought down the Warehouse Live venue last night with his intense showmanship. Backed by the talented Rhythm Roots All Stars band, Tony gave the crowd a whirlwind tour of his classic catalog. He kicked things off with a slew of hits from the Wu-Tang’s 36 Chambers, as well as some of his noteworthy guest verses on Raekwon’s Only Built for Cuban Linx (which is still one of my favorite rap albums). He then lunged into his solo joints. “Biscuits” and “Cherchez La Ghost” really had the audience going bananas, but “Run” garnered the most fanfare.

Granted, Ghost is a remarkable entertainer on wax, but there are some aspects of his show that simply cannot be captured by an audio. On stage, Ghost is transformed into a giddy hip-hop fan, dancing and smiling away as if he’s relishing the show more than his audience. The 37-year old MC occasionally stops to offer some golden nuggets to his young audience.

After paying tribute to ODB, ‘Pac, Biggie, and other fallen soldiers over the instrumental of “I Ain’t Mad at Cha”, Pastor Ghostface Killah urged everyone to put God first, not just when in trouble. “Y’all muthaf*ckas should pray, because tomorrow ain’t promised to no one. I might come back here next year and 5 of y’all n*ggas is dead. Nah, I’m serious; Don’t point at yourself.”

15 years ago, a statement like that would’ve evoked a response like “Yo, get the f*ck outta here with that bullsh*t” from the same audience.

Related:
The kid Enigmatik was in the building as well. He has a much detailed concert review and more photos.