Bone Thugs-n-Harmony at the Galaxy Last Night

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Written by Paul Lyons

Sunday, 27 March 2011 20:51

After 3 1/2 hours of endless opening acts, hip hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony hit the stage at 11:45pm Saturday night for an exciting 105 minute concert that featured a live backing band, hit songs, chants, cheers, arm waving, women, beer, and plenty of weed to go around. The stage in question was The Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana...a 17-year old modest dinner theater on South Harbor Boulevard.

Straight out of Cleveland...Bone Thugs-n-Harmony have been through several ups and downs since their 1993 debut album, Faces of Death, was released. They won awards and sold millions of records, yet internal strife tore the band apart...not to mention the fact that one member was sent to jail for eight years. Yet now, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony are back...and are on tour in support of last year’s Uni5: The World’s Enemy reunion album. Unfortunately the reunion was short-lived, as Saturday’s show only featured three Bones out of the five-member group. In other words, Krayzie Bone and Wish Bone were sorely missed, yet the Santa Ana crowd did get the opportunity to witness Layzie Bone, Flesh-n-Bone, and the great Bizzy Bone do their thang with everything they got.

It seemed fitting that Bone Thugs-n-Harmony came out on stage Saturday night guns-a-blazing with “Rebirth,” the second single off of Uni5: The World’s Enemy. From the start, it was clear that although it was great to see Flesh-n-Bone out of jail, and people adored Layzie Bone...it was Bizzy Bone who was the star of the night. Bizzy (aka Bryon Anthony McCane ll) was a powerful presence on stage, and was able to rap and rhyme with incredible speed that highlighted his high-pitched, raspy, vocals. Bizzy has been at odds with the band for years... and would leave the group on several occasions, only to return sometime later. From what I witnessed at the Galaxy, I don’t know how Bone Thugs-n-Harmony got on without him. As much as Bizzy Bone sang in harmony with the group on stage...I also got the sense he had his own thing going on as well.

Other highlights of the night included the 1995 hits “1st of tha Month” and “Tha Crossroads” (from the classic E. 1999 Eternal album)...as well as “Ecstasy” from 2000’s BTNHResurrection. 2010’s third single off of Uni5: The World’s Enemy...”Meet Me In The Sky” was another highlight...played in a more aggressive mode than the gentle original recording.

The mood of the concert was loose and fun. At one point, the band filled the stage with women from the audience who danced and hugged and loved being near Layzie Bone and Flesh-n-Bone. There was one woman on stage who could not keep her hands off of Layzie, prompting a bodyguard to block her from moving back his way again. He was a good sport though, and was willing to give her a hug before she left the stage with the rest of the women.
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony took time out to pay tribute to the man who influenced, guided and mentored the band from the very beginning: NWA superstar Easy E. Layzie Bone made sure to remind everyone that March 26th marked the 16th anniversary of Easy E’s untimely death, due to AIDS. In addition, Layzie informed the crowd that March 26th also was the day of the funeral for late rapper Nate Dog...who died 11 days earlier of congestive heart failure after a number of strokes. It was clear that the band had strong love and respect for both men, and that the Galaxy concert was an informal tribute to their lost brothers...

At the end of the show, after Bizzy Bone shook hands with the entire front row and left the stage for the night...a raffle winner was announced. A woman was brought up on stage to be with Layzie Bone and Flesh-n-Bone, and was given an autographed Bone Thugs-n-Harmony t-shirt, as well as a BTNH bandana. It was the band’s way of giving back to their loyal fans. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony indeed gave a lot to the fans on Saturday night, and the crowd left the theater knowing that everyone had a good time...