Public Enemy still at large in Deer Lake Park

Something has gone deeply wrong. There’s no way that Public Enemy, hip-hop’s greatest ever band, should have been relegated to the support slot at last night’s FoxFest in Burnaby’s Deer Lake Park. With all due respect to Sublime with Rome, the simple fact that Public Enemy no longer commands headline status demonstrates either a) their once unassailable legacy has crumbled under the twin weights of middle age and Flavor Flav’s horrific Reality TV career, or b) the world has gone mad.

This isn’t, it’s important to note, the ranting of an aging music fan who remembers just how exciting and dangerous Public Enemy once appeared. This is the consensus. VH1 named “Fight The Power” the greatest rap song ever. Rolling Stone magazine named PE the 44^th Greatest Artist of All Time. Even Kurt Cobain included their masterpiece, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, in his personal Top 50 albums.

On yesterday evening’s evidence, Public Enemy still have what it takes to rock the crowd. The opening quartet of “Public Enemy Number One,” “Rebel without a Pause” (featuring the delayed arrival of Flavor Flav, dressed like a luminous banana), “911 is a Joke” and a supremely cacophonous “Welcome to the Terrordome” all provided ample reminders that PE have a back catalogue to rival anyone.

The difference, with this 2012 version of Public Enemy, is that the classic two rappers, one DJ line-up is now augmented by a guitar/bass/drums live band. There are downsides to this. Flavor Flav’s semi-competent slapping the bass was just one unnecessary detour. More notably, by diverting from the meticulously constructed beats on the sonic cauldrons of their original recordings, the music occasionally drifted into generic funk-rock territory. “Bring the Noise,” abrasive in its original version and revolutionary when Public Enemy teamed up with thrash metallers Anthrax, arrived like a Red Hot Chili Peppers b-side. The live “remix” of “Don’t Believe the Hype” fared no better.

Despite the misfires, there were still multiple moments of brilliance. Chuck D gave a timely shout out to the Canadian Women’s Soccer Team after “He Got Game,” before imploring the crowd to “Be smarter than your mother****ing smart phone.” DJ Lord gave an imperious display of the art of turntablism, deconstructing “Seven Nation Army” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” to the delight of the crowd. Flavor Flav demonstrated that he’s a better drummer than bass player, even though he managed to initially park himself on Sublime With Rome’s unmic’d kit.

The finale of “Fight the Power” was suitably inspirational, Flavor Flav exchanging hugs with the crowd and Chuck D bringing a disabled fan and his dad onto the stage to celebrate the moment. It was an openhearted gesture that provided a striking reminder that keeping it real doesn’t necessarily mean playing the badass.

Perhaps Public Enemy’s best days are long behind them. The simple matter that one of the S1Ws, their burly on-stage dancers/security men, was selling T-shirts from a duffel bag after the show would indicate that the band’s 25-year adventure may soon be going gently into the hip hop night.

Having said all that, even a past-its-prime Public Enemy still had more than enough potency to blow alleged headliners Sublime with Rome off the stage. Legally unable to call themselves Sublime, despite featuring two-thirds of their line-up, SWR delivered all the charisma and excitement you’d expect from a ska-punk cover band. The plumes erupting in front of the stage would suggest that it sounded significantly more entertaining with herbal enhancement.