I´ve always been an Ice Cube fan since the very early days of his career ( 1986 C.I.A My Posse Maxi single, early NWA singles and EPs, and of course the now classic stuff he did with NWA).

However, my expectations were not really that high last night because even though I really enjoyed his last two studio albums Raw Footage and I Am The West, I thought he´d no longer be hungry enough to deliver a great show, but man, was I wrong.

The venue was an old WWII bunker in Hamburg, Germany. Very odd yet great place for a concert.

The place is called "Übel und gefährlich" ( i.e "Evil and dangerous") .

The bunker looks like this:

[img:$uid]http://www.karostar.de/images/uebel-gefaehrlich.jpg[/img:$uid]

The whole night started very relaxed and laid back....my friends and I had a couple of drinks and enjoyed the local support acts and mingled a bit with the crowd. We stuck with Havana Club rum and Coke most of the night and had lots of fun:

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Ice Cube and WC gave one hell of a performance, their energy level was incredible, the sound was great, they didn´t make us wait for ages like most other rappers and musicians do, they had no problems with their lyrics, no fooling around on stage drunk or high, just sheer, incredible energy and a two hour show that left me VERY postively surprised. I should have known from his last two albums that Ice Cube is very serious about his art and the whole event just made me like him even more than I already did.

The show started around 10 and ended around midnight. I can´t give you a very accurate setlist but he started with an intro which was basically a shorter version of the track I Am The West and then continued with Straight Outta Compton, then went on to do Check Yo Self (Before You Wreck Yourself) and a tribute to the late Nate Dogg ( he did a superb rendition of Gangsta Nation), then continued with Smoke Some Weed off of his Raw Footage album, and of course It Was A Good Day.

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By the time he did It Was A Good Day the place had already gone nuts! You never would have thought you were in Hamburg/Germany....people knew all the lyrics and were waving the Westside sign in the air.

[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/KoolEaze/WestsiiiiiideinHamburg.jpg[/img:$uid]

Ice Cube couldn´t help but start smiling even though he started the show with his usual moody and angry facial expression.

[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/KoolEaze/Icecubelookingangryandskeptical-Kopie-Kopie.jpg[/img:$uid]

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He repeatedly mentioned how much he liked the crowd and Hamburg in general and during the interaction with the crowd part he insinuated that he prefered the Hamburg crowd over the crowd in Munich, where he had given a show the night before.

The interaction with the crowd part and the chants ( a part of rap shows I usually dread because it is such a worn out old cliche) was actually really good and did not consist of the usual phrases that most rappers use ( ...well, almost.....they basically made the crowd chant some phrases like "Party over here fuck you over there" after dividing the crowd in two, but it really wasn´t as corny as it sounds and was kept brief, so it was kinda okay as far as I´m concerned.

Icecube also had his son Doughboy on stage who performed some of the newer songs with him.

Unfortunately his other son, OMG, could not be there due to some university obligations. Nice to know that he´s smart like his educated dad and studying at a university, too.

Doughboy really gave a decent performance for someone who´s not been on tour that often. I spoke with him and he told me that this was his first time in Germany.

[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/KoolEaze/DoughboyEyp-1.jpg[/img:$uid]

Ice Cube really knew how to get the crowd moving and shared his contagious energy with the crowd. The atmosphere was fantastic and I had a lot of fun.

[img:$uid]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/KoolEaze/EHavingFun.jpg[/img:$uid]

After the show WC, Doughboy and DJ Crazy Toones (WC´s brother) mingled with the party people and we took a couple of pictures. We really enjoyed ourselves and it was a great night. Relaxed, laid back yet full of energy!

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We took tons of pictures and video footage but I can´t upload all of it now, nor do I have a Youtube account ,and I got back around 3 a.m. and had to get up around 6.30 a.m so I´m a bit tired right now, sorry for the lack of videos but here´s a clip from YT to give you a glimpse of last night:

I really loved this show.

Sorry for the lack of a setlist...wlll probably post one later, got to get some rest now.

Westsiiiiiiiiide edit

Forgot to mention the location

[Edited 7/5/11 15:10pm]

Good to see Cube is still doing great live shows! i have not been able to see him live yet but soon enough i hope

He performs a lot around here in L.A

CCCCCUUUUUBBBBBEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He look guud! He coulda been my child support hook up!

Glad you guys had fun. Thanks for the pics.

Gunsnhalen said:

Good to see Cube is still doing great live shows! i have not been able to see him live yet but soon enough i hope

He performs a lot around here in L.A

He was amazing. I mean, after more than two decades and a hugely successful mainstream career including lots of successful movies he still comes over to do some very simple, very basic yet extremely energetic and passionate shows in such a ridiculously small place for someone of his calibre. THIS is what the worn out phrase "keeping it real" really means. Ice Cube is the epitome of keeping it real, keeping your honor and staying true to yourself.

His last albums were, IMO, very good,too.

Westcoast and Hip Hop legend.

YAY YAY!!

Glad to see that this legend stays on point with his music. Glad you had fun.

Did it melt?

Thanks for a great review & share, man.

NOTED.....if he brings this shit 'round MY way.....I'm THERE.

TheDigitalGardener said:

Did it melt?

Sure! See pictures 4 & 5.

KoolEaze said:

TheDigitalGardener said:

Did it melt?

Sure! See pictures 4 & 5.

Oh wow, looks like the show was really on point. Glad you had a great time!!!

One day later in Cologne......with Snoop!

[Edited 7/9/11 5:02am]

Awesome!! Glad you enjoyed the show. Ice Cube is great, love him

KoolEaze said:

One day later in Cologne......with Snoop!

[Edited 7/9/11 5:02am]

What did you think of the show?

I see ice cubes all the time. Usually in a glass with some Jack Daniels!

Here´s a link to some really professional pictures from the show. Can´t post the pictures here but you MUST see these pictures, they look great.

Critics are still raving about the show. Ice Cube came, saw and conquered.

I´ve been following Cube´s career since day one and have never seen him smile this often. It was an incredible night.

http://www.riseandshineph...-cube.html

And another one I hadn´t posted yet.

[img:$uid]http://media.b4l.de/wp-content/gallery/ice-cube-konzert/IMG_2740.jpg[/img:$uid]