Day 2

The Chemical Brothers show was definitely a hard act to follow. But the second day of North Coast Festival turned out to be a BLAST! The first set I decided to check out was Layedback Luke. I knew nothing about him and had never even heard the name before but the boy threw down some serious bass. I was waiting for Benga's set to start but Luke's wobble lured me in and his drums kept me there.

Luke did a great job getting me hype and I was ready for Benga to tear it up. But as the crew was setting up for the next performer I noticed a guy that looked a whole lot like Daedalus and sure enough it was.

Eventually he informed the crowd that Benga was unable to make it to the states and that he has been brought in super last minute to supply the crowd with the bass they were seeking. As sad as I am that I didn't get to see Benga perform I am thankful that Daedalus was there to entertain. He even opened up with my homie Lorn's tune Army of Fear!

Daedalous drops Lorn- Army of Fear at Northcoast Festival from Mike DuPree on Vimeo.

After Daedalous filled the bass quota for the evening I worked my way over to check out Jay Electronica's performance. In my post listing my most anticipated artists I said that I thought Jay would be the surprise of the show. Boy was I wrong. He did more talking than rapping and had a very poor sense of how to control a crowd.

Securing a Front Row Spot for De La Soul from Mike DuPree on Vimeo.

BUT after leaving his stage 20 minutes into his show I set myself up for a real treat. Front row De La Soul!

Unfortunately I don't really have any concrete documentation of the De La show. I was too busy having fun. I had forgotten how much fun good hip hop shows were. I even got to shake up with Posdenus when he came down to the crowd. I think I can say that the De La show was the most fun I had all weekend. They even brought out Dres from Black Sheep!! Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. After De La exited the stage we mustered the last of our innerfunk and worked our way over the the stage to catch Boys Noize.

Somewhere in the midst of the blinding light on stage Boys Noize switched off and Moby took over! I can't believe that he got me to dance that much when I was so worn out from De La. I know I stated previously that Boys Noize knew how to throw a party but Moby illustrated an even greater command over the forces of body movin'.

Day 3 was short and sweet. I'll post up soon.

Day 1

These are some pics from the Chemical Brothers show last night. It was beyond words. Sick tunes. Sick Visuals. Crazy crowd. This was my first show of this scale and i must say it shattered my expectations.

Chemical Brothers Rock North Coast Festival Chicago from Mike DuPree on Vimeo.

98.9% Complete Gundam 00

He's alllll most done! There are still some finishing touches to be added though.


He even gets a wrinkly background! (I'll iron it next time.)

Side shot. His shields are dope.

Epic. Ness.

Gundam 00 Raiser!

So, here are some older pics of my work on the 1/100 Gundam 00 and the 0 Raiser. I will do a better job of documenting with the later kits. I swear! I didn't do nearly as much 'documentation of process,' as I would have liked; but without Internet access for so long, I suppose my dedication suffered. But, I'll explain my process a bit more in the future if anyone even reads this crap. Word. Pics!


So I had picked up the 00 Gundam kit before I went to Japan, but I never got around to finishing him. He was a very sad unfinished model indeed..

This is 00 once again. Just with a few decals applied. I started applying decals before I was done painting the whole kit which was probably a bad idea.. but I really wanted to see the decals! I advise painting, then decals, then matt spraying. Finished kit in my next post!

Mission Accomplished

What is that?

IT'S A GUNDAM!!!
My inner 6 year old was seizing at this point.

I'm not totally sure how many people shot me the link for the real life Gundam, but it had to be at least 10 people. I think it's funny that people think there is anyway in hell that a real Gundam could be built without me knowing. However, I do appreciate the support. LOL! I've known about this thing for several months now, but on June 26th. I saw a real Gundam. I really don't know how much of the awesomeness I can express through words, but believe me. That thing is sooooooo sweet!! 35 Tons of Gundam standing like 65 feet tall T___T

Saved the Best For Last

So, I'm in Tokyo now, and all I can say is WOW! This city isn't as graceful as Osaka, but it damn sure has a lot of stuff to do. I'm just going to throw up pics now. I'll write more later.

We were lucky enough to be given a tour of the Tokyo University of Art. These are two of the schools professors presenting their works in laqucer. I can't describe how awesome these were in person.

I believe this is part of a movie theater
I sat and watched it rain for a good 20 minutes. So rad.

The famous Tokyo skyline and Tokyo Tower

Osaka ga suki des.

After just a few day in Osaka, I can say that this is one of the most impressive cities I have had the opportunity to visit. Despite the language difference, it's still amazing to see how people from all over can still sit down and enjoy a drink and a laugh together. There seems to be a willingness of the natives here to reach out in conversations that I've never seen in any other country. In one day, I will be leaving Osaka, and I can honestly say that I will truly miss this city.

Konichiwa

Well, I've finally made it to japan in one piece. I'm sitting in my hotel room watching some animation by Akira Toriyama that I've never seen before. I'll be going out all over Osaka today at 10 am. I'll throw up a few pics from the trip over.

I think we were actually in outer space at one point..
This is the terminal in Shanghai. Pretty sweet architecture.
And finally, a snap shot of my taxi ride to the hotel in Osaka.

More iPod

Snapping pics at red lights is kind of invigorating. Maybe that's not the right word. It'll do for now.

Ghetto of the Mind

I can't put into words how DOPE this beat is! I know I'm not supposed to be taking pics while I'm driving, but i was at a red light. Thank you Lord for those 3 minutes of goodness.