I went with my friend Kristine since a) most of my buddies are at out-of-state schools and the ones that are in-state(other than Kristine) didn't quite show any interest in seeing this man in concert. Can't argue with that, not everybody likes the same stuff(Much like when I liked Poison at a time when it was uncool to like them, of course, if you like them now, it is even more uncool, and, sometimes, if you dress like they did back in the mid 80s, that now, IS VERY UNCOOL! -- long hair, tight pants, what's the deal here?)

Sorry about that. Well, doors open at 8 pm, show didn't start until 930. Or, so the club's webpage said so. So, we were one of the first 20 people in the door, and I can't believe how bare the place looks without all the people in there. Honestly, this is the first time I've arrived to a show before any bands started playing. So, it wasn't like I had to bitch-slap some sweaty skinhead to get a "parking space" for the show. Besides, Lupo's has a pretty nice setup. Unfortunately, the upstairs kickback was chained up for the show, nobody allowed upstairs as long as I can remember. So, we found a "wall-couch" and sat there and chattered away til the opening act(Whale) came on.

WHALE

Whale's somewhat of a rock-techno band, if you can imagine that. They were somewhat loud, and, other than the song they had out 2 years back, "Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe", I really didn't recognize any other songs. I can't say that it wasn't good, but I can't say that it was great. This was not a band I'd pay $15 to go see, but, maybe no more than a tenner. They played about 6 or 7 songs, and Whale sailed into the backstage and out of sight. They're also from Sweden if anybody gives a damn. Not that I think you'd, but, they said it, so I'll pass that along.

We soon realized that we would have to keep our spot now that the night's main attraction was ready to get onstage. Whale had lasted maybe no longer than it did for the Tricky setup crew to get everything working. My assumption was that TK and Martina Topley-Bird(his mate) were probably smoking or rolling some joints backstage. It took about 25-30 minutes before they came out. EVERYTHING had to be tested.... TWICE! The mic, drums, keyboard, guitars... But, there was nothing wrong with this, I was losing my hearing anyway, I couldn't have been happier.

Finally, Tricky & Martina got out on stage. Not that I was angered about this, it's just that I've been waiting for a year and a half to see this guy in concert. He opened with "6 Minutes" off of his latest cd. There are not a whole lot of words to this song, things kinda repeated here and there, but, the beats were definitely on. After 6M, it sailed right into "Overcome", which is a song done by Martina. While she was singing, and once she started singing, the crowd went nuts just as they did when Tricky started things up. While Martina sang, Tricky just stood with his back to the crowd, and all you could see was the light-up of him smoking a cig. I could not tell the color of the outfits the two of them were wearing, but, there was some wacky stuff going on with the lights, and some film projector images going on. At one time, it appeared that a flag was all Tricky was wearing. I don't want to say whether it was Britain's flag or the US, for, I have poor vision, but, we all know he's from England.

The crowd really seemed to appreciate the music, as did alot of the couples there, who showed they appreciated it a little more than others(c'mon people, use your imaginiations). There were some large lesbians there, alot of girls holding hands, a few guys holding hands, maybe they were blind, hell if I know. I don't make judgments. Like I said, I don't remember the order of the songs, but, when he ripped into "Tear Out My Eyes", the song was extended by about 5 minutes with intense work on the drums, as well as Tricky repeating himself over and over, what it was the final line of the song, I don't remember. I think he just kept going,"Tear Out my eyes....... Tear out my eyes....." and so on and so forth. He played about a dozen songs or so(do the math yourself), and after about an 8 minute wait while he sparked up backstage or something, he and Martina came out for an "encore" of one song. That last song was "vent", which is only 3 minutes long on the cd, but, once again, with intense drumwork, and repetitive vocals, the song was stretched to 10 minutes time.

It was probably the best show I've ever been to. For alot of reasons I enjoyed it. Naturally, because, I've been dying to go see this guy in concert, because I like the music, because my friend seemed to enjoy herself, too, because there wasn't a close-to-sellout crowd, because, most of the people there knew the songs, not like concert-goers who go just to "beat people up". Only one crowd surfer throughout the whole show, a definite plus. Pretty much no matter where you were, you had a great view of the stage. For most of the show, there was enough room to do a full aerobic workout, whether you were going to do push-ups, jumping jacks, or maybe even a frigging cartwheel. But, for the last 5 songs, I had some dumbass in front of me who kept moving from one side to the other, even when the people in front of him weren't moving. It's as if he could see my reflection on the back of the guy's head in front of him or something. That was my only complaint, and really, that's not too bad. So, this was my latest concert, first time I've bothered posting a review on this page, for, I never have time to boil up an idea on what to say.