wiley last night
i went. was good fun.. wiley DID make it to the stage.. just, after an increasingly worried JME making plea after plea ..
but he was pretty wasted... strangely introspective and refused to engage the crowd directly, who were theyre for him, to see him deliver, have his moment etc.. but he seemed like a studio geek who couldnt quite deal with the limelight.. it was strange, a bit confusing. does he want this?
We got little more than a handful of bars from him at a time.. he seemed preoccupied with telling the dj what to do (ie: rewinds after just a few bars.. 'no long ting' etc etc) we got about 45 seconds of 'gangsterz'.. everyone went mad for it.. then on to the next thing... not chance for the tracks to reach their points of intensity..
then, half way though the set he practically dissapeared, roll deep et al took over the stage and it turned into a party. Manga was really good. his higher register cut through and he was HUNGRY. really captured attention.
I liked Flo dan too.
then it just seemed to collapse.. and they were all gone.. no sign of wiley.. where was he? by the entrance posing for press shots! ;0
but the crowd didnt even get a chance to make any noise.. really bizarre.
Tons of people turned out for him, but he didnt milk it!
i had a good night, but I left confused about what wiley is trying to do, and concerned that he's shooting himself in the foot, after seeing dizzee last week (which was on point, taut, direct.. even if i don't really like the new record much) the gulf between their approaches couldnt be more pronounced. He needs to step it up.. i mean.. all this 'playtime is over' sloganeering starts to become mere rhetoric..
wish Wiley would take advantage of the opportunities he's got.. he's got the talent, but his mentality?... who knows... a very confusing/confused character.
really glad i got to see him at all though.
ill post some links to my very wobbly footage at some point.