Detonating on Saturday, May 13th, Lettuce’s second annual Rage Rocks performance at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre is already the stuff of legend. Predictably, the Royal Family extravaganza was a mighty display of funk, soul, jazz, and fusion muscle, creating an evening brimming with explosive jams from Lettuce and their fantastic friends. Guests included Marcus King, John Scofield, and New Orleans royalty George Porter Jr. and Cyril Neville for two sets of chunky, greasy Lettucefunk, as well as opening hits from JRocc, Turkuaz, and The Russ Liquid Test.
However, the most buzzed about collaboration of the evening was Ghostface Killah’s emergence to kick off Lettuce’s second set. The reclusive Wu-Tang emcee, sorcerer of the non-sequitur, and among the most cherished and respected personas in hip-hop, stepped into the Colorado night with authority, and their chemistry sparked electric from the very first verse. Taking the stage in Jedi robes after a haunting “Requiem” intro, Lettuce plus Tony Starks dove right into the chilling boom-bap of “Mighty Healthy”, the beloved deep cut from Ghost’s sophomore LP Supreme Clientele. It was nothing short of transcendental, as the band reproduced RZA’s voodoo metronome with tenacity. From there, Ghostface led the team into the timeless Shaolin anthem “C.R.E.A.M.”, and the crowd lost their minds chanting the classic refrain “Dolla Dolla Bill, Y’all.”
Listen as Ghostface himself is blown away (“Oh Shit!”) as he realizes the band is playing the song’s sample source material (The Charmels “As Long As I’ve Got You”) underneath his rhymes. The rapper is equally amazed by the furious reactions from the Rage Rocks audience. Meanwhile, drummer Adam Deitch absolutely nails the drum programming on “Shimmy Shimmy Ya,” solo-salvo from dearly departed Wu-heyoka Ol’ Dirty Bastard.
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The Big Apple bully squad wasn’t done yet, milking one more classic from the collab that wasn’t even on the setlist: “Daytona 500.” The song represents a feverish display of emceeing from GFK’s 1996 debut Ironman, licking shots over Bob James‘ omnipresent scorcher “Nautilus.” To be raging second row at Red Rocks and hear my favorite band perform my all-time #1 Ghostface song with the man himself? In a word, deliverance! To quote the hero of the hour, Ghost-Deini: “Let’s f*ckin’ hear it for the Lettuce band!”
Please enjoy this crisp audio of the Lettuce/Ghostface Killah Rage Rocks collabo courtesy of Upful LIFE. Words from B.Getz and a full gallery of pictures below, courtesy of Phierce Photography.
