A healthy-sized crowd (600 at the door, according to the promoter) showed up to the Coliseum Saturday night to see the Wu-Tang Clan's most charismatic member in action. The inimitable Mr. M-E-F performed in his trademark microphone-dominating style, climbing repeatedly off the small stage and into the crowd and interacting enthusiastically with audience members throughout the night. One such interaction hit extra close to home when I caught an accidental shoe to the head, immediately after Meth testily (and wordlessly) insisted that my good friend Adam "the Devastator" Greer hold his hand for a little while.
See also: - Slideshow: Method Man in St. Louis 1/5/2013 - Raekwon Showed up at the Gargoyle at 10:55, Ten Minutes After Wash. U. Faculty Pulled the Plug on His Show - Curren$y, Method Man And Big K.R.I.T At The Pageant, 10/25/11
Method Man took the stage close to 1 a.m., following several opening acts and an extended DJ set/breakdance-a-thon that left many audience members in attendance a bit restless. Experience has taught me that Wu-Tang shows tend to start late, so my patience was therefore still intact when a familiar voice came through on the microphone, demanding that everyone "get the fuck up." "Release Yo' Delf" would be the set's opener, and Meth charged onto the stage like a bull in a china shop.
"There are only two things you need for a Method Man show," he explained between songs. "The first is weed, motherfucker. The second is energy!" It is a speech I have heard before, during his set at 2011's Smoker's Club stop at the Pageant, and it was the first of several challenges Method Man would issue the crowd throughout the night to attempt the improbable and match his level. Meth was sweaty before the first song was over, and cast aside his jacket and vest almost immediately: "This ain't about style," he said. "This is Wu-Tang. This is hip-hop." Despite the hot lights, his set was unrelenting and he seemingly never tired.
"Hey, this white boy right here just said 'nigga.' Quick, everyone, get him!" Meth joked, referring to a fan who was singing along in the first row. "No, I'm just playing," he continued, before anyone could act. "Not for nothing though, we do get four more years."
"I like Obama," he explained between puffs on a blunt. "He just needs to legalize this weed."
