MOS DEFinitely Not the Best Show I've Seen

After seeing a truly great Toots and the Maytals show three days earlier, I thought I was in store for a mind-blowing weekend (yes, in this case the weekend would have stretched to Monday) of live music. My anticipation for the Mos Def concert at Santa Clara University's Leavey Center was almost overflowing. Despite the criticisms aimed at his second and third albums, I appreciated his body of work and his desire to experiment with The New Danger and his return to classic hip-hop roots on True Magic. My friend had seen him in a number of small venues and also anticipated the performance that evening, until we endured the sound system and one mediocre and one atrocious opening act. I could barely understand anything the first rapper said due to an excessively loud bass and generally substandard sound system. I wished I could have simply blocked out the second performer with his emo style and go-go dancers; think Marilyn Manson hip-hop...painful, isn't it? The second act was so bad my friend wanted Mos Def to come out and apologize for putting us through such an awful performance. Unfortunately, the sound when Mos Def came on stage was no better. I am not sure if it is the acoustics of the basketball arena, an incompetent sound man, both, or some other aural transgression, but the experience definitely did not make me enthusiastic to return to the Leavey Center for another concert. Now, Mos Def did perform the hits everyone wanted to hear, particularly "Ms. Fat Booty" and "Umi Says," but the sound was so poor it detracted from what should have been a nice mix of old and new hits. The highlight of the evening for me was the fact that he played "Champion Requiem," one of my favorite songs and one that I did not expect to hear live. I do look forward to seeing Mos Def again, but I will wait until it is at a venue I trust.