#1. Ryan Leslie- Saw him in Annapolis at a small venue, Rams Head. He came out and did a weak set for maaaaybe 45 minutes and then bounced. No opening act and no encore. Left a really biter taste in my mouth. I thought he would come across much better live. "Wrong!!" -Charlie Murphy

#2. Mos Def- Attempt 1 was Feb 2009 at the 9:30 Club in DC. I was there for the first of two shows that night. Show was supposed to start ~6:30 because there was a second show at 9:30. He was delayed at the airport (or something) was the story that was barely relayed to the crowed. They had a whackass DJ spinning weak tunes for "entertainment". I think I left around 10:30. I just got tired of standing around waiting, not knowing when/if he was gonna show up.

#3. Mos Def- Attempt 2 was Sept 2009 at Sonar in B'more. Opening acts out the wazoo. Some hip-hop/rock band, a "come-up" MC, Jay Elec, and Talib Kweli. Loooong story short, show started at 7:30, Mos didn't finish his set till about 2:00 am. Now, I will say, Mos was great. Great energy and all that. The whole time he was on though, I kept thinking to myself 'I want to go home and go to sleep'. But I couldn't cause I waited that long and it was my 2nd attempt to see him.

#4. NERD- Saw them open for the Kanye Tour and then for Badu. Love the band, but damn they need a better sound tech. You can't understand a cotdamn word they are saying and the bass and drums are so heavy you can hardly hear any other instruments. If you aren't a fan in advance, I don't think seeing them live would turn you around.

#5. E.Badu- Saw her tour at DAR in DC back in 2008. So damn tight. Note perfect and I ended up bringing my 8 y/o daughter, because I didn't have a date (don't ask). I made it a daddy/daughter thing. The Roots killed to a mediocre crowd and it was a 9/10 night.

FastForward to May 2010 Pier Six in B'more. Opening acts: Janelle and NERD (see #4). Great right? It's a muggy night but it's cooling off. There's a longish intermission setting up for her set. The DJ was keeping it hype.

Finally the lights come down and everybody is ready. The band breaks into "20 Feet Tall" and then..... continues to play the same 16 bar intro for what seemed like 10 minutes. No bull.

She came out and did her thing and then at 11:00 rolled. She kept saying goodnight throughout her set like a joke though. I kept telling my girl 'wait for the encore' and then the lights came on. *cue sad trombone*