Saturday night and I was heading into the city to see my first gig for 2011. This is one that has been on my hit list for a while. I had tickets to see Public Enemy way back in 2006, but unfortunately they pulled out of those dates. They then came a couple of years ago for Rhythm and Vines, which is in Gisborne. That gig, however, was a big asking price just to see one group, and I couldn’t be bothered travelling. Painfully I ruled it out. When the announcement was made that Public Enemy was playing Auckland in 2011, I was all over those tickets. Thank God I did.

Most gigs you can really enjoy and take a lot from, but this gig was on a whole other level. I can’t remember a time when I just danced my ass off, and was almost hoping for a break. There was just good jam after good jam. Hit after hit. What an incredibly enjoyable show. The enthusiasm of the crowd. The energy that Chuck, Flav and the rest of PE brought to the show was just other worldy. When it all finally ended (at the three hour mark) there was no need to cheer for an encore. We had all been so privileged to get that much in the first place, everyone just left it out there on the floor of the venue.

Chuck D was nothing but style and the crowd lapped up every single rhyme. Flav is all showman. The guy just doesn’t stop, and surprisingly, aside from adding the “flavour” to Public Enemy, he even stepped up on the bass and the drums at two different points of the show. The S1W’s, DJ Lord, and the rest of the band. Everyone was amazing. What a great show, and a fantastic way to wrap up the holidays.

I took some photos, and you can see them on my Flickr page.

Here’s a new video of one of their classics.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy!