Guerilla Union's "Rock the Bells" Concerts

Forget Hot 97's uninspired Summer Jam. They haven't even sold out the tickets yet. Instead, the biggest concert series this year is on the West Coast, courtesy of Guerilla Union's "Rock the Bells" festival.

The show I would give my kidney to see features Wu-Tang Clan, Sage Francis, Supernatural, Dilated Peoples, Redman, Jurassic 5, and Eyedea & Abilities. A backpacker's wet dream.

Comments

[Jay]

i kno this shows gonna b dope!!!!!!

[Claudia]

i kant wait to see this show!... i love the guerilla union for throwing these dope ass shows. I went to the last event hey had and it was so dam sick, visionaries, super natural, swollen members and living legends killed the stage!

[Claudia]

I would love to see Hieroglyphics in there too!

[Josh]

I actually went to Rock the Bells, and it was the absolute WORST concert I've ever been to. Dont get me wrong, the performers were all great (Except Sage Francis) however the lack of organization, security, and space made the concert dangerous, CROWDED, HOT, and not worth staying until the end for. I didn't even see Wu...after coming on an hour and 40 minutes after their intial time...I just...couldn't!

[Travis]

I can't say enough about how bad this venue and concert was. Obscenely oversold, it took 3 hours to get in. The only reason it didn't take longer was the crowd was threatening to riot and tearing off iron bars from the fence surrounding the venue. finally they just opened the gate and let everybody storm in. There was no where near enough security to handle the size of the crowd. Fights broke out in regular intervals.
In addition what should have been an outdoor concert, the perfromers were onstage inside of a gymnasium capable of holding a third of the people that were at the concert. Then after 3 hours of waiting in line and an hour outside of the actual stage area which felt like a sauna and reeked of B.O. from the # of people trying to cram in there. the wu stalled, holding the audience hostage until the decibal level reached an acceptable peak.
I guess our sacrifices ($40 ticket price, 3 hour drive there, 3 hours in line, only to stand outside of where they were playing) weren't enough to prove we were real fans. We left dissapointed and only got close enough to see one perfromer: Redman on stage from outside of the building. Guerilla Union and wu tang will never get another cent from me!!! You sellouts, forgot about the fans chasing the $$$.

[Ryan]

Went last nite... Great vibe. Great people. Total lack of security and organization which contributed to a near riot and an hour and some delay before the Wu went on. Loved the music hated the promoters execution. Started to get bad during dialated peoples. Group stopped 4x to tell overcrowded VIP section to stop crushing forward. When redman was about to go on I left the VIP section to the restrooms. Went back and redman had been on. Could not get near doors to entrance because of the crowd spilling out of the hanger the venue was in. Asked a guard to clear area to the VIP and he shrugged and was evasive and told me to go to someone else with a walkie talkie. Asked who manager was. Told Javier at gates. Went to gates and was again refered to someone else at the VIP check in table. This guy was coked out of his mind with his hand brushing back and forth over his nose and inhaling furiously and trying to divert complaints he was about 22-25 small framed idiot. He was also handing out blue vip wrist bands to anyone who got close. He informed me that the gate had been rushed by about four hundred non paying people and that the vip section was likewise rushed as well and security was attempting to clear it out to reopen after redman. Then I turned around to see about 300-400 people in the food and radio dj court swirling around like a riot some one yelled something about looting and then I saw about 40-60 peopole rush out of the front gate across the way from me. As one passed through the gate a guard old and frail female guard old enough to be a grandma bravely ripped what I thought was a wooden handle about three to four feet long. Refering to a previous comment it turns out it was part of the fence. I would like to officialy confirm that. Returned to venue given up on security and going back into VIP. Had doubts and thoughts of riots, fights, or police. But hey... it is wutang... so i returned. the peripheral of the mob inside the hangar had thinned had a decent view of stage. And saw that eight various members of the previous groups that had played that night and others trying differnt approaches to pacify crowd for half an hour. The only response was water bottle and anything else handy thrown at them. Looked around hangar and people had climbed onto anything they could to get better view. Some well above 20-25 feet high on concrete ledges above the floor. I even think they had displaced a comera man from his perch on the right front side of venue facing stage. Place had crazy energy. But mind you, ***there luckily was no hosility between attendees***, all were just unchecked in regards to enthusiasm, the reason for the craziness was lack of security and qualifications from employees handling the periphery, I would not dare rag on the security watching stage though, they handle just fine. The rest were clowns, ***or maybe just way too understaffed*** and whos planners had not adequately thought venue through. Surprising when you think it was planned as a cd and dvd. The concert was worth the wait. I love those crazy guys, and i think the event planners way underestimated the anticipation of their fans.

[Jason]

I went to the rock the bells. Possibly one of the best line ups ever, but somehow one of the worst concerts ever. All thanks to the organizers. The venue was the worst possible choice for an event of this scale. There was probably a total of 30 security guards on hand to handle the 10-15 thousand people. 'BlackHawk' security i think was the name of the company. The line was the longest line with the most people i have ever been in or even seen. There were thousands of people in the line and the time spent waiting was crazy. I saw a total of one security guard managing the line. At one point at the entrance, a couple hundred of the people in line managed to break through the gate and rush through into the concert grounds past all security check points and ticket collectors. Security could only stand there and watch as the people flowed in, unsearched or checked. There was not one organized thing about this concert, and they are very lucky nothing extremely bad happened. They kept the crowd stuffed in a hangar- wall to wall full of people-standing room only for over an hour past their scheduled appearance time. The crowd was very pushy, and very hot. I was with a girlfriend at the time and shes very tiny, so i was concerned she might be in a bad place since we were very near the front of the stage. I decided to get a better view and get to a safer spot. We climbed up some soda machines in the back, then climbed up a brick wall to a small sort of over hang 20 feet up overlooking the whole place. I felt alot safer up there and took some snap shots of the crowd-keep in mind this is INSIDE a small hangar, and i could only fit less than half the crowd in these pictures. There are alot more people there than you can see in the pics. They are also a bit large, so slow connections beware.

In this one you can see people (the only clear ones in the shot) about 20 feet up ontop of a concession stand, which I swear was about to collapse on like 50 people, considering all the weight on it. It was later completely looted and destroyed inside.
http://img12.exs.cx/img12/180/RTBcrowd4.jpg

here we are waiting for what seemed like hours for Wutang to come up.
http://img12.exs.cx/img12/3011/RTBcrowd1.jpg

here is Sway and his stupid ass hat trying to calm the crowd down.
http://img12.exs.cx/img12/124/RTBcrowd3.jpg

Finally the clan comes out and rocks the place.
http://img12.exs.cx/img12/1166/RTBcrowd5.jpg

Im surpised there wasnt a riot or people getting trampled. I am a die hard Wu fan, so in the end I suppose it was worth it just to see them all back together like the good ol days. For all I know that may be the last time we ever see them together... but at the very end Rza did hint at the possibility of one last album from them as a whole.

[Alize]

I gotta agree w/ yall! The event was NOT well organized, I'm surprised people didn't start riots!

Does anyone know where we can view pictures of the event??? Links, sites???

[The Alchemist]

The Alchemist 1st Infantry may be the hottest rap album in the last decade.What makes this album so hott? Feauturing Nas,G Unit,Jadakiss,Mobb Deep,and Cypress Hill.
Where did the Alchemist come from?
As a teenager was in a band called the Whooligans with movie star Scott Caan "James Caans son". Since than Scott has been in hit movies such as Boiler Room,Gone in 60 Seconds and Oceans Eleven just to name a few.But his partner in crime The Alchemist stayed in the music field,moving from Hollywood to New York City were he beileved he could take his musical talents to another level.One after another this kid put out gold and platinum records,yet managed to do anything but sell out.
Who is the Alchemist?
If you read magazines you have seen him.From Hip Hop to fashion,The Alchemist is becoming a house hold name.The front man on the Beverly Hills Pimps and Ho's website wearing a got ho's t-shirt.It is evident that this musician/producer has no problem with the honeys.

[R2]

F@#K that concert. I travelled 500 miles to see half a line up. First of all I could give a f_ck about seeing 3/4 of the fools. I went to Chicago to see Doom. Where was Doom? Possibly caught up in some battle with Spiderman? I'm pissed. I want my money back and until then I will take the measures needed to satisfy my rage. I'm going to release everything I have from doom to every peer to peer network out there and share the love. Last time you jerks at Guerilla Union and MF Doom get another cent from me or my friends or anyone I meet just getting turned on to MF Doom. In closing! MFU Doom!! and Guerilla Union.

[MMC]

Entertainment News
Article by: Jahmai Mitchell
Date: February 14,2008

MMC Releases their highly anticipated debut Demo/Album, which is a follow up to their smash mix-tape that was well received by local communities in Miami. The awareness of MMC’s mix-tape was accomplished through verbal promotion and not a full-scale type of marketing/promotion. With limited resources MMC self-titled mix-tape “MMC” became club goers and car rollers must have. Members of MMC and their fans were interviewed after one of their shows in Miami

“I was giving up on Rap, when one of my friends told me about this group that she heard of through one of her friends and that they were performing, which is a must see, she told me”. Michelle McLoggon

“I haven’t had this much fun at a Hip Hop concert in a long time it kind of brings me back to outkast”. “boy! MMC the Sh**”.Ozzy

“I will always give the fans a show they cant forget, I will also like to thank all our fans for their support”. Peezay P. of MMC

“ Yo what up fam, that what I am talking about we come here to give the fans something new every time we (MMC) step on stage or in the booth”. Jinxo of MMC

MMC got the streets listening, but will Radio Stations be as receptive.

Article by freelance writer
Groups “MMC” contact information:
www.myspace.com/mmc305

[Big Bonafide]

When the hell is the rock the bells concert coming to sunny Miami, Florida?

[The Hip-Hop Spot]

This years Rock The Bells was real Good.

We covered Rock The Bells San Francisco..

for coverage photo galleries visit here:

http://www.thehiphopspot.net/emcee/rockthebells

Rock
The
Bells...

[The Hip-Hop Spot]

This years Rock The Bells was real Good.

We covered Rock The Bells San Francisco..

for coverage photo galleries visit here:

http://www.thehiphopspot.net/emcee/rockthebells

Rock
The
Bells...

[The Hip-Hop Spot]

This years Rock The Bells was real Good.

We covered Rock The Bells San Francisco..

for coverage photo galleries visit here:

http://www.thehiphopspot.net/emcee/rockthebells

Rock
The
Bells...

[The Hip-Hop Spot]

This years Rock The Bells was real Good.

We covered Rock The Bells San Francisco..

for coverage photo galleries visit here:

http://www.thehiphopspot.net/emcee/rockthebells

Rock
The
Bells...

[The Hip-Hop Spot]

This years Rock The Bells was real Good.

We covered Rock The Bells San Francisco..

for coverage photo galleries visit here:

http://www.thehiphopspot.net/emcee/rockthebells

Rock
The
Bells...

[Robert]

Hi

I love the posts here, and what you have done in this community. PartyAve is looking for Hip-Hop contributors. We can post your articles on our site with full credit.

www.partyave.com

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[Bamboozle Festival Concerts]

this is going to be a great concert!!!! I’m going for sure. the energy is going to be crazy!!