Concerts Galleries

AFA '09 - George Clinton (Sep 09) : George Clinton was the African Festival's 2009 headliner. Her put on a great show and seems to be enjoying himself quite a bit at age 68. It was interesting to see that the elders in the village didn't mind his foul language as much as they did during the hip hop set the previous day. Go figure. After the show, I had a chance to speak with some of the band. Consistent with other artists I've seen in CHI, they were all really gracious and down to earth folks. Cool. If you want the link to the other 300 photos, email me. I had some trouble identifying all of his band members, so if you have the missing ones, please email me or comment on the photo. Thanks!

AFA '09 - George Clinton (Sep 09)

George Clinton was the African Festival's 2009 headliner. Her put on ...

Updated: Sep 12, 2009 8:22am PST

AFA '09 - Pharcyde, Souls of Mischief, Camp-Lo and Locals (Sep 09) : On the only night with Hip-hop at the festival, they had three groups and some local artists. Souls and Pharcyde were good, but I don't know their stuff the way I know artists from AFA in years' past. Still, SoM's "93 'til Infinity" album is a fantastic album, way ahead of its time. Anyway, here are a few photos from the hip hop stage. If I have some of the names wrong, please let me know.

AFA '09 - Pharcyde, Souls of Mischief, Camp-Lo and Locals (Sep 09)

On the only night with Hip-hop at the festival, they had three groups ...

Updated: Sep 06, 2009 3:47pm PST

Subterranean - Jedi Mind Tricks and Esoteric (Sep 09) : Perhaps the rowdiest crowd I've seen at SubT was 9/09 for Esoteric and Jedi Mind Tricks (I got there too late to catch Reef the Lost Cauze, but saw him when AoTP took the stage). Given the crowd, it was hard to get too many good shots. At one point, some fool spilled his drink all over me (and splash the Nikon). Thank God it is sealed like any good pro-body should be. When JMT took the stage and brothers started slam dancing, I made my way to the exit, in case it went down. It didn't, which was good. After the show, Jus Allah, Eso and others were upstairs. Again, all really nice guys. *** I think I have some of the AoTP members captioned incorrectly. Please comment with corrections. Thanks

Subterranean - Jedi Mind Tricks and Esoteric (Sep 09)

Perhaps the rowdiest crowd I've seen at SubT was 9/09 for Esoteric and ...

Updated: Sep 05, 2009 6:53am PST

Subterranean - Lord T & Eloise, Earatik Statik, and Alltruisms (Jul 09) : Hoping to see Verbal Kent perform, I trekked back to SubT. Unfortunately, I found out earlier in the week the VK was out, but his Gravel Hip Hop peers, Alltruisms and Earatik Statik, would be opening for Lord T and Eloise. Here are ~30 of my favorites. As always, email me if you want your pix or a link to the rest of the ones I took (~200 more) Lord Treadwell and Maurice Eloise VIII AKA "Lord T and Eloise" came through Chicago with Theodore Roosevelt at the end of July. I had no idea what to expect and figured their myspace page was an exaggeration. Memphis Crunk, or "Aristocrunk", was bass-heavy and high BPM. The crowd had a great time. It was unreal to watch how much energy these guys had for the full hour. T. Roosevelt was a nice add on the drums too. They also covered a few old-school songs - Lionel Richie's "All night long" and Slick Rick's "Children's Story" among them. The were much more entertaining than I thought. Check out their myspace page to hear some songs... And NO, they performed with green lights... I wasn't holding an night-vision camera... I only caught the last 2 songs from Alltruisms. He was nice on the stage, but the crowd hadn't really arrived yet, so it was fairly empty. I bought his CD a few weeks ago (you gotta support indie artists). It was OK, but I think his best verses are on VK's albums and live on stage. Eartaik Static also took the stage and I got a few photos from their show. The beats and rhymes were nice, but the crowd was still sparse. Worth checking out, and they'll only get better on stage as time passes. Peace.

Subterranean - Lord T & Eloise, Earatik Statik, and Alltruisms (Jul 09)

Hoping to see Verbal Kent perform, I trekked back to SubT. Unfortunat ...

Updated: Aug 03, 2009 7:59am PST

Subterranean - Keith Murray and Midwest artists (Jul 09) : Subterranean once again, this time for Keith Murray and a bunch of Chicago artists (on a work night - not cool). They had so many they started 2hrs earlier than planned. From 1030 to midnight, I shot photos of some Midwest artists. All nice guys. I missed some names and would appreciate a little help if you got 'em. Keith Murray was more energetic than expected and put on a great show for about an hour. I missed him in Chicago last time, because I chose to see Ms. Rachelle Ferrell that night at the AFA. Aside from a botched first stage dive, he was great. Enjoy the pics. If you performed that night, I have ~300 more in a private gallery. I'm happy to share if you email me, I'll send you a link. Ditto if you want the photos in this gallery, just let me know I'll get you access. Consider these copyrighted. If you use them, credit the site and let me know where they're at (yes, that's all). Thanks. - KB

Subterranean - Keith Murray and Midwest artists (Jul 09)

Subterranean once again, this time for Keith Murray and a bunch of Chi ...

Updated: Jul 18, 2009 8:31pm PST

Earth, Wind and Fire (May 08) : The finale of a three day meeting on the Big Island of Hawaii was an outdoor dinner and concert by Earth, Wind and Fire. After not shooting much during the trip (I was actually in meetings), I took about 200 photos during the show. Here are a few favorite 30 or so. A few other thoughts: I did my best to identify the band members based on numerous google searches. I could not get the woman who was our promoter/ point person to give me the names because she claimed she'd "get in trouble". Mind you, Phil Bailey introduced them ALL during the show, I just didn't have a pen. I didn't realize playing in EW&F was the equivalent of being an undercover CIA agent. She seemed relatively clueless, and wouldn't even let me ask the band manager. No good reason, I guess she's just like that [insults deleted] During the "meet and greet" after the show, Phil Bailey essentially tried to hit on my wife (I'm only 1/2 kidding). I guess he's still in the '70s. More power to him.

Earth, Wind and Fire (May 08)

The finale of a three day meeting on the Big Island of Hawaii was an o ...

Updated: Jun 01, 2008 12:41pm PST

AFA '08 - Ms. Rachelle Ferrell (Aug 08) : Let start it this way: Rachelle Ferrell is the most talented singer I've ever heard. Rachelle Ferrell blessed Chicago with another great concert this year. She was funnier than ever and talked to the crowd like we were just 2-3 people in her living room. She had been sick in the days leading up to the show and used a nasal inhaler, tissues, and all kinds of stuff througout the show - and clowned around the whole time while doing it. She did a few songs that had most of the crowd wiping their eyes - including a tribute to Bernie Mac. She also did some songs praising the Lord. The scat version of Blackbird was amazing. Lastly, the facial contortions were certainly in effect. I took well over 200 photos from up close, thanks to my media tags. Here are my favorite photos from the night.

AFA '08 - Ms. Rachelle Ferrell (Aug 08)

Let start it this way: Rachelle Ferrell is the most talented singer I ...

Updated: Sep 21, 2008 3:36pm PST

Subterranean - Verbal Kent, Lord 360, BlackCollar, The Opus (Jan 09) : After picking up two of his albums and really enjoying them both, I decided to go see Verbal Kent at Subterranean. I went solo, so I had my gear. All the performers, especially VK, were great to talk with before/ after they took the stage. No bling. Just hiphop. Amen. I missed a few names, so if you have them, please email me so I can update the captions. I also have a bunch of other photos in a private gallery. Email me if you want the link. keith@kbevphoto.com. Consider these copyrighted. If you want to use them, just let me know where (send me a link or copy) and it's all good.

Subterranean - Verbal Kent, Lord 360, BlackCollar, The Opus (Jan 09)

After picking up two of his albums and really enjoying them both, I de ...

Updated: Jan 10, 2009 9:45am PST

AFA '08 - Nice and Smooth (Aug 08) : Nice and Smooth put on one of the best shows at the Hip Hop stage of the 2008 Festival. Greg Nice jumped into the crowd and spent 3/4 of the show in the grass with fans having s great time. Smooth B joined him at the 1/2 point, and the crowd loved it. Here are the best photos from the show. If they come to a town near you, you must go see them.

AFA '08 - Nice and Smooth (Aug 08)

Nice and Smooth put on one of the best shows at the Hip Hop stage of t ...

Updated: Sep 21, 2008 3:38pm PST

AFA '08 - Black Sheep, Rhymefest, and Brand Nubian : The final night of the 2008 festival included Black Sheep, Rhymefest, and Brand Nubian. Once again, we'll do this one step at a time: Brand Nubian - These guys did a great show and the crowd had clearly forgotten how whack their last album was. The didn't do the entire first album, but they did enough of it to make it fun. The crowd was full of old heads that knew all the words to every song (I wasn't one of them - except for Slow Down). Lord Jamal gained energy as the night went on. Sadat X had that familiar voice, but ran outta gas and even SAT DOWN at one point. Grand Puba was good, but I always preferred Sadat X. Rhymefest put on a decent show, but the kids on stage was not a good thing. See the captions for more info. It was my first time hearing or seeing him, and I'd watch him again (for free) and listen to him again (without buying his album). Black Sheep was a group of one. Mr. Lawnge is no longer in the group. A "group" of ONE kinda feels the same as an althete going "3rd person" during an interview. In any case, like Special Ed a few days earlier, Dres plugged his MySpace page. Unfortunately, he did so much new stuff the crowd was just standing there wondering what the hell he was saying. Of all the old school artists that have come over the years, he was the one that sounded the least like he did back in the day. He didn't even do "Strobelite Honey" - that's a crime!

AFA '08 - Black Sheep, Rhymefest, and Brand Nubian

The final night of the 2008 festival included Black Sheep, Rhymefest, ...

Updated: Sep 21, 2008 3:39pm PST

AFA '08 - Special Ed, Rage, and Big Daddy Kane (Aug 08) : Kane, Special Ed, Lady of Rage, Swamphouse, and NoTryDo.Sincere all performed on Saturday night. Let's start at the top: Kane put on a great show and still has the voice we knew from back in the day. He did all the classics, and was not peddling new stuff that nobody wanted to hear. After jumping into the crowd for a song, Kane remarked about how tired he was - he'll be 40 soon! Scoob Lover and Kane and did some old school dances for a finale (and probably got medical attention afterwards). Special Ed was also very good in concert and even did his verse from the Crooklyn sountrack! Afterwards he hunt out singing CDs (his new one: "Still got it made") and posters. I spoke with him for a few minutes and he was was a nice guy just enjoying the festival crowd. Hard to believe Ed was 36! The Lady of Rage did a surprisingly good show and the crowd showed her a lot of love. She was the first to admit "I don't have many songs that y'all know, but let's have some fun!" She did her biggest hit, Afro Puffs, but also did some familiar verses from the Dogg Pound album that I had forgotten (but I still knew some of the words) Swamphouse didn't belong on stage in my opinion, although some of the other artists in between the headliners did a very nice job. NoTryDo.Sincere's drumline was a nice change of pace.

AFA '08 - Special Ed, Rage, and Big Daddy Kane (Aug 08)

Kane, Special Ed, Lady of Rage, Swamphouse, and NoTryDo.Sincere all pe ...

Updated: Sep 21, 2008 3:43pm PST

AFA '07 - Naughty, EPMD, Kurtis Blow (Sep 07) : A year later, the African Festival of the Arts came back to Chicago's South Side with a nice Old School hip-hop lineup. This year, I went on the last night and saw Naughty by Nature, EPMD, and Mr. Kurtis Blow. You get the "Mr." title if you can still move the crowd at age 48. In a nutshell, NN was nice and Treach still raps with a scowl (like that kid at the Humbolt Puerto Rican festival - in the Events gallery). "The other guy" could still flow. When they came to the stage, they reminded themselves there were kids in the audience, and they'd keep the show PG-13. Then they proceeded to curse the rest of the show. EPMD didn't care about the kids. Parrish came out and said form the start, "Excuse my language, but this is how I do hip-hop" They proceeded to drop F-bombs and the N-word at a rate that would make Redman proud. I was never a huge EPMD fan, but they did their thing. The DJ tried to show-out, but he wasn't spectacular. However, for his age, he held it down. They pointed out that this was the first time in a while "all three members of the group" had been together. Am I the only one who didn't know the DJ was a member? EPMD stands for "Eric and Parrish making dollars" (the DJ is not mentioned in there). I guess the DJ is a volunteer, since it doesn't say anything about him making dollars too. Lastly, Mr. Kurtis Blow was amazing for a 48 year old. Still in shape, he rocked the old-school dances and could still get the crowd going. It didn't hurt that most of the crowd near the stage was getting blunted up during most of the show. Kurtis called for B-boys to help him with a song and 7-8 jumped the fence and break danced on stage for a $50 prize. During the battle, Kurtis got in the circle for some footwork and a few freezes. Mad props. Off-script, there was a tie for first and Kurtis offered them each $50. They agreed to a 3-on-3 winner-take-all crew battle. It was live and took up the rest of the time. Kurtis gave the winning crew cash from his pocket. Nice!

AFA '07 - Naughty, EPMD, Kurtis Blow (Sep 07)

A year later, the African Festival of the Arts came back to Chicago's ...

Updated: Sep 20, 2008 1:46pm PST

AFA '07 - TUCC Women : The Trinity United Church of Christ Women's Choir opened the Main stage on Labor Day at the African Festival of the Arts in Chicago. I took over 100 photos of my home church's Women's Choir. Here are a few favorites. Please let me know, in advance, if you would like to use these pictures in any publication. Consider them copyrighted. If you want a link to the other photos, contact me at the link above.

AFA '07 - TUCC Women

The Trinity United Church of Christ Women's Choir opened the Main stag ...

Updated: Sep 29, 2007 12:09pm PST

EBFRT - MC Lyte and Doug E. Fresh (Aug 07) : The Ebony Black Family Reunion Tour is an annual, free event in Washington Park. The free concert this year featured Klymaxx, MC Lyte, Whodini, and Doug E. Fresh. Despite the rain, The Mrs. and I enjoyed dinner and old school rhymes in the park with the other old heads and a bunch of kids who had never seen their parents act that way. Unlike Kool Moe Dee (see photos from last year in "Events"), nobody looked much different. Whodini looked a bit older (but then again, it has been 26 years!). MC Lyte looked and sounded great. I didn't take photos of Klymaxx, but they were jammin' and playing their own instruments. MC Lyte played with a band, no DJ. Whodini's DJ, Grandmaster Dee was off his game. He was skipping records, missing his cues and making a mess of things. Doug E. Fresh is still the man. Unlike Big Daddy Kane, Doug has always had some weak dances, so he can do the exact same moves he did 20 years ago. He'll be doing them for 20 more... and still moving the crowd. Enjoy the pics.

EBFRT - MC Lyte and Doug E. Fresh (Aug 07)

The Ebony Black Family Reunion Tour is an annual, free event in Washin ...

Updated: Sep 20, 2008 1:42pm PST

AFA '06 - Guru & Kool Moe Dee (Sep 06) : The last big festival of the Summer in Washington Park included performances by Kool Moe Dee and Guru. Along with a few hundred other old-heads, I had a good time right in front of the stage. I took a few photos for those who wonder what they look like now... Yes, they did ALL of the classics. KMD gave love to the old school and point out that "me and LL kept all our beef on wax, we never talked about going and killin' each other like these young guys today". Guru kicked a nice freestyle verse or two between classics. He also spent a good portion of the show dropping F-bombs and referencing weed.

AFA '06 - Guru & Kool Moe Dee (Sep 06)

The last big festival of the Summer in Washington Park included perfor ...

Updated: Sep 20, 2008 1:44pm PST

Abbey pub - Akrobatik, Juice, Mass Hysteria (Feb 08) : My 2nd trip to the Abbey in a month, I went back to see Akrobatik. I went by myself, but did bring the gear. Aside from a few people in the crowd that insisted on getting blunted, the crowd was cool... I could use some help with the names if you have them, please email me via the info tab.

Abbey pub - Akrobatik, Juice, Mass Hysteria (Feb 08)

My 2nd trip to the Abbey in a month, I went back to see Akrobatik. I ...

Updated: Jan 10, 2009 9:01am PST

AFA '09 - Ahmad Jamal, Soukous Stars, Booker T. Jones, and Julia Huff : Over the course of the weekend, on the main stage, a lot of talented performers shared their craft. Here are 45 of my favorite photos from those shows. Booker T. Jones was an interesting performer. He wasn't the most animated man on stage, but he was clearly passionate about his music. The good news is that his band was pretty colorful. This was especially true of his bassist who had ink all over. Although his music wasn't my style, he was great to hear. Julia Huff had a great voice, although I had never heard her sing before. On the downside, she used her voice to sing covers of other artists' songs. On the plus-side, she sang many of them as good (or better) than the original artist - including a Jill Scott track, which says a lot! Ahmad Jamal was nice on stage. That is a smooth man right there. The best part of his Jazz set was that I could take my earplugs out for a night. He had a lot of fun on stage. A while back I saw Ben Vereen perform in Wicked. Everyone else on stage was "acting" and Ben was clearly in his element, is was like watching a master perform. Ahmad had that same air about him. Lastly, the Soukous Stars were probably the most entertaining act of the weekend outside of Mr. Clinton. Their two dancers, Jessica and Maria, were fantastics and really got the crowd into the show. The lead sing showed his stuff too, and must have been reliving a past life on stage. He was an intesting contrast to Maria and Jessica, but to his credit - they all put on a great show!

AFA '09 - Ahmad Jamal, Soukous Stars, Booker T. Jones, and Julia Huff

Over the course of the weekend, on the main stage, a lot of talented p ...

Updated: Sep 07, 2009 11:31am PST