You knew MySpace was for teen emo girls and the overaged sex-starved boomers who e-stalk them, but 2006 will go down as the year MySpace finally caught on with all the internet thugs. Friends of Keak the Sneak can’t go 10 minutes without getting a bulletin from the Yay Area, and MCs from Lowell’s D-Tension (“MySpace Bitches”) to Atlanta’s C-Side (“MySpace Freak”) now hype Rupert Murdoch’s crown jewel the way dudes used to sweat gold chains.
So yes, MySpace did put on a free Method Man show at Axis the other night – part of its ongoing “Secret Shows” series, which kicked off in January in Los Angeles and has since hosted the likes of Jenny Lewis, OAR, NOFX, Franz Ferdinand, and Gnarls Barkley. The 500 fans who were luckly enough to check their MySpace accounts and then grab a wristband at Tower Records day-of-show were treated to a newly-revived Meth: fresh off a Wu-tang reunion tour, the Clan’s most popular member was promoting his new 4:21… The Day After (Def Jam, due August 29). For a club that usually only gets out-of-town hip-hop stars when there’s a contest or something, the reception outside was low-profile: the only outward signs of life within, as baffled Red Sox fans spilled out of Fenway Park, was Meth’s tour bus parked outside and a small yellow MySpace banner.
Inside, Lawrence’s Termanology (
www.myspace.com/therealtermanology
) and St. Da Squad brought local flavor, but the night belonged unequivocally to Meth, who who took the stage with his typical confidence, a playful swagger that beams charisma without having to overemphasize it, a drink and his trademark blunt in hand.
“Everybody on MySpace fucking,” the Ticallion Stallion declared. He asked the men in attendance if they were on MySpace for business or to attract the opposite sex, got about a 50-50split. Then he asked the women the same question, and the applause was heavier toward business. “You’re lying, ’cuz half you motherfuckers on my page trying to throw the pussy at me.” He then jumped into a spirited rendition of “What the Blood Clot” off 1994’s critically acclaimed Tical (Def Jam). Meth appeared entranced, looking up at the ceiling, as if there was nobody in the room, and moving his arms up and down to the beat as he flowed crisply.
He breezed through snippets of old Wu-Tang tracks as well as joints from his solo career, jumping in and out of the crowd as easily as he dove in and out of eras. One disappointment: the only time the crowd heard the perennial Wu classic “C.R.E.A.M.” was when the DJ teased the crowd with it before Meth’s arrival. From the new set, he brought 4:21’s “Presidential MC,” with a RZA-produced 36 Chambers-like beat and a renewed concentration on lyricism.
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The Shaolin Assassin jumped up on the back bar to rap -- much to the delight of the college aged crowd -- before fearlessly diving into a mosh pit in front of the stage -- much to the chagrin of his bodyguards. He left the crowd starstruck, ending with the “Da Rockwilder” off 1999’s Blackout with Redman.
“Flip-flops is feminine man,” he quipped to a fellow MySpacian in the front row. Must have been one of MySpace’s many dorm dwelling date seekers. But hey, that’s music these days.