Buck 65 brings his eclectic sound home to Halifax
Peter de Vries, Staff Contributor
“Zombie delight! Zombie delight! Zombies are comin’ to getcha’ tonight!”
Buck 65 stretches his arms out forwards towards the crowd of about 800 from the stage of Halifax’s Grand Parade. He’s been spittin’ about everything from baseball, gravediggers and bandits to small-town life for about 45 minutes in the cold. Now he’s rhyming his way through a fictional zombie apocalypse.
“Recognize thyself. Call in the troops. Zombies have a tendency to mobilize in large groups. There’s little information and no answers. One weird thing is that they’re excellent dancers—WATCH THIS!”
Some in the audience cheer wildly, while others laugh in amusement as Buck 65 begins dancing across the stage for a few frenzied seconds before returning to the mic to finish the song. Fans of the Halifax-based veteran hip-hop weirdo have been gravitating towards his odd mix of lyrical themes, DJ acrobatics and comical dance moves for about 20 years. Tonight those talents are on display in full force as he alternates rhyming, scratching at the turntables and breaking into outlandish but slickly executed bursts of dancing. His extra layers of winter clothing do nothing to hinder his dexterity.
He stomps and shouts his way through the guitar-driven chorus of “463,” an old fan favourite from 2003’s Talkin’ Honkey Blues, before a few voices in the crowd shout out their requests for “Wicked and Weird,” another song from that album. He quickly obliges, delivering a rendition of the track with electronic blips that oddly contrast the banjo and beat-driven version on the album.
He tells the crowd about his restless journey back to Halifax from a recent performance in Paris.
“I haven’t slept in about four days. I came running back here as quickly as I could. There’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be than here.”
The crowd cheers loudly as Buck 65 continues his banter. He’s visibly emboldened by the crowd’s appreciation as he tells them the story behind a song he wrote about Sable Island and its many horses. That song is “Blood of a Young Wolf,” which he plays before quitting the stage with a wave to the crowd. Enthusiastic cheers fill Grand Parade as nearly the entire audience stays standing in the cold in anticipation of an encore.
Buck 65 reappears on stage only seconds after he left. His face shows a wild-eyed look of mock alarm. He leans backwards slightly, taking in the moment. It’s as if he’s overwhelmed by the crowd’s response to his performance, but also hamming it up a bit.
He dedicates tonight’s rendition of “Roses and Blue Jays” to his father and then closes his set with the thoughtful and articulate tale of “Craftsmanship.” Much like the shoe-shiner in that song, Buck 65 has given his fans many reasons to come back.
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