Pitchfork

Photos and text by Drew Katchen

Wu-Tang Clan have been all over the place in late 2007, with Raekwon performing at the J.A.M. Awards last month, Ghostface doing Hip Hop Live!, RZA on the road, and Wu about to set off-- not to mention the arrival of Ghostface's Big Doe Rehab and the first Wu record in six years, 8 Diagrams.

And then of course, we have GZA's pair of performances at the Knitting Factory, the first of which went down last night and saw his 1995 classic Liquid Swords cut up, reworked, enhanced by enthusiastic crowd participation, and temporarily abandoned in favor of Wu-Tang or Ol' Dirty Bastard songs. Pitchfork Music Festival attendees this past summer will recall GZA swinging through Swords in between Slint and Sonic Youth.

Here, GZA-- backed by an on-stage entourage at least 10 deep-- didn't make mention of the canceled McCarren Park Pool Liquid Swords show that would have closed out the park's series of summer live concerts. But just before "Gold", he did playfully acknowledge the Knitting Factory's intimate size and his recent UK trip for ATP's Nightmare Before Christmas show. Ultimately, the showcase took Swords' eerie verses and frigid beats and made them into something warm and revelatory.

After a second run through Liquid Swords tonight, GZA will join up with the Wu for a jaunt across the U.S. Dates and more photos below.

GZA










DREDDY KRUGER


KILLAH PRIEST


GZA:

12-14 New York, NY - Knitting Factory *

* performing Liquid Swords

Wu-Tang Clan:

12-15 Chicago, IL - Metro
12-16 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
12-18 Boulder, CO - Fox Theatre
12-19 Aspen, CO - Belly Up
12-20 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
12-22 Bakersfield, CA - Fox Theater
12-23 Hollywood, CA - House of Blues Sunset Strip
12-27 San Francisco, CA - Ruby Skye
12-28 Boise, ID - Big Easy Concert House
12-30 Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo
12-31 Portland, OR - Roseland Ballroom
01-03 Las Vegas, NV - House of Blues
01-04 Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theatre
01-05 Albuquerque, NM - Sunshine Theatre
01-09 Baltimore, MD - Rams Head Live!
01-10 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
01-11 Boston, MA - Palladium
01-12 New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom
01-13 New Haven, CT - Toad's Place
01-14 South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
01-15 South Burlington, VT - Higher Ground
01-16 Providence, RI - Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel
01-18 Richmond, VA - Toad's Place
01-19 Norfolk, VA - NorVa
01-20 Charlotte, NC - Amos' South End
01-21 Charleston, SC - Music Farm
01-24 Orlando, FL - Club Firestone
01-25 Miami Beach, FL - The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater
01-26 St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Landing