An Evening with the Juggalos

From another show on the "Bang! Pow! Boom!" tour from wikipedia.com. I couldnt have gotten this close without getting sprayed down with Faygo.

I wouldn’t call myself a fan of the Detroit-based rap duo Insane Clown Posse by any stretch of the imagination but I sure have run into plenty of “Juggalos” over the years. I’ve been to plenty of shows around town that have had a smattering of Juggalos in attendance (if I really have to explain what a “Juggalo” is at this point, well you haven’t been around Detroit much the past 13 years, have you?). Juggalos have been spotted at the occasional Kottonmouth Kings or Hed (pe) shows over the years, but I had never experienced an Insane Clown Posse (I.C.P.) show itself and decided it was time to embark on a little sociological experiment.

Against the advice of people at the various outlets I write for and others I know, I decided to see what the big deal is all about for myself. So, I somewhat reluctantly hit up Meadowbrook Music Festival in Rochester Hills as the “Happy Daze” Tour rolled through the Juggalo’s “hometown.”

In the past, I had been told there were three likely scenarios that I would encounter:

1) I’d get my ass kicked on site for looking different than them (i.e. white-boy dreadlocks, baggy shorts, Psychopathic Records t-shirt and a hatchet man medallion)

2) I would get sprayed with Faygo (I.C.P.’s beverage of choice) like the family dog getting a bath by garden hose

3) Somebody would be passed out on the hood of (or possibly under) my car when I walk out of the venue.

Fortunately for me, none of those three things happened. But here’s what I did see:

Meadowbrook was filled with 4,000 or so of the Juggalo army. They wore a lot of the same clothes (see above), had their own language going on (I wouldn’t say their catch phrases “woot, woot” and “family!” are creative, but after you hear them 7,000 times in 4 hours – it tends to get stuck in your head), and all of them had the same sort of “I’m a bad ass” attitude. Oh yeah, there were a few acts on the bill as well…

Here is the lowdown on the different groups at “Happy Daze”:

-New York rapper Necro was better suited on this bill than his disastrous venture on the Sounds of the Underground 2007 tour, where he was relentlessly booed and heckled by metal fans to the point where I actually felt bad for him. Fans of I.C.P.’s music probably loved it, but others, maybe not so much.

-The women of Kittie seemed like the odd fit on the bill and as the band played through their 30-minute set which leaned heavily on the band’s new album, Into the Black, the crowd seemed to embrace them as well. Lead singer/ guitarist Morgan Lander and drummer sister Mercedes ripped through tracks like “Cut-Throat” and “Never Again” for a semi-hometown crowd (They hail from London, Ontario – two hours from Detroit and as close as they were gonna get to home on this tour). For the surprisingly high number of females (a.k.a. Juggalettes) in the crowd, I am sure they were happy to see a little bit of estrogen fueled rage, instead of the usual Faygo filled pandemonium.

-Coolio was up next- yep, that Coolio. Coolio’s set was a family affair, with his son, nephew and other family member playing hype men and DJ. Even though my days of listening to Coolio stopped in the mid-90s, at least he seemed to have a good time during his set. Later, he was spotted dancing around the concourse during the Kottonmouth Kings set, despite the mental and/or physical state he was in.

-With the exception of Kittie, the longtime stoner rappers Kottonmouth Kings were the group that I had the most knowledge of going into this show. After seeing them a few times over the years, I had a pretty good feel for one of KMK’s shows, and this 55-minute set was no different. The group was out in support of their brand new album Long Live The Kings. Along with new member Dirtball, D-Loc, Daddy X and Johnny Richter had everybody (including me) bobbing their heads and signing all about the benefits of the green plant discussed in nearly every single one of their songs. It’s a guilty pleasure, but I don’t care; Kottonmouth always puts on a good set.

-Headliners Insane Clown Posse came on for a 90-minute set, which featured nearly 800 two liter bottles of Faygo launched and sprayed into the crowd. Shaggy 2 Dope and Violent J gave their fans the “Vegas Spectacle,” with the stage setup and dancers looking like they were gearing up for a weekend stint at Caesars. I don’t really know their music all that well, but I will give them credit for at least one thing; they really have their aim down with those two liters. Some of them went halfway into the pavilion.

Most of the comments from fans at the show were geared towards them feeling out of place in a venue as nice as Meadowbrook. These fans were not used to this sort of setting. Guess what; neither was I. Being out of your element isn’t always necessarily a bad thing and the place still looked in order when I left (with the exception of Faygo sprayed seats), so they were respectful at the very least.

Even though hitting up one of their shows won’t make me run out and buy one of their albums or join the “family,” the fact that I made it out of the venue without any major incident pretty much debunked a lot of myths people I know have about the group and their fans.

To check out more information for the “Happy Daze” tour, go to www.insaneclownposse.com for the rest of the dates and group info.