Sunday nights don’t usually hold much magic in Burlington. On Sunday nights, I can usually be found throwing in a load of laundry and watching animal videos on YouTube with my cat. In fact, by the time last Sunday rolled around, the magnitude of what these Wu-Tang allstars had in store for me caught me quite off guard. In my Sunday laziness, I neglected to shower for the occasion, and strode up to the throng of fans still filtering through the doors feeling grimy compared to fresh and Listerine clean kids in crisp jeans and tight dresses. While waiting my turn to be shuffled through the tight security, I reminded myself that Mef and Red respect every lady as Miss International, and I entered the ballroom with a little more swagger in my step.

I arrived at the end of Duo Live’s opening set. There was already a crowd of every variety of hip hop fan New England has to offer packed against the stage. I sneaked my way around three massive dudes standing stoically in front of me to get a better view of what every one was making a ruckus over. There was an uncommonly cute lady of diminutive stature working the stage with The Duo’s Mcs, asking the audience if they thought she looked like she could pound a 40 oz. As the crowd egged her on, she busted out a 40 of Old English and chugged it. I joined the chorus of  “HELL YEAH” and couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear and shake what my momma gave me as the DJ laid one down.

Ghostface was up next, with intent to satisfy our appetites for some Wu Tang favorites. I’ve got to admit I was a little star struck, hell,  I could tell that at least half the crowd was right there with me. During the break, I heard a few dudes in front of my talking about how far they had driven to be there. Mass, Maine, Upstate New York,  and New Hampshire, and all of them were working the next morning. The fact is, Burlington is one of the only places where it’s even possible to see a line-up like this in a venue as intimate as Higher Ground with out needing some sort of  V.I.P. staus. If that weren’t enough to ensure a dedicated turn-out, they made it all ages. You can say what you want about the younger generation, but after you’ve begged your mom everyday to let you go to a rap show with your best buds and she finally gives in because it’s summer vacation, you’re going to party like it’s 1994.  Ghost worked this rag-tag bunch like the champ he is, calling out the true hip hop fans from the crowd, daring Burlington to prove itself worthy. After a somewhat impressive sing along of “Wu-Tang Clan ain’t nothin’ to f*** with,”  Ghost capped it off with a tribute to Ol’ Dirty Bastard and was outta there.

I only had time to gulp a glass of water and high five a former schoolmate I bumped into before Mef and Red burst onto the stage. I’ve got to admit that I’ve had a huge crush on Method Man ever since I watched the music video for “What’s Happenin’ ” where he wrestles with a bunch of honies on a bed. So when he came out rapping in a pair of nerd glasses held together with tape and a tshirt bearing his own name, I felt my body do a little more than blush.

The charisma of the pair was infectious. I didn’t see a stationary body in the place, save maybe the suspected plain clothes cops in the back. They blasted through a practically perfect set of choice track from their latest disc “Blackout! 2″  and every classic that we could have hoped for with ease. And rightly so, as they’ve been two of the most successful masters of the genre since the early ninties.  They also spared no chance to remind us that they chose to come here because they know that Burlington can get down, and that they wouldn’t be back soon, so we had better act accordingly. After song after song of non-stop head bobbing, bumping and grinding, hands in the air, and enthusiam over the pending release of How High 2, Mef and Red finaled with another tribute to fallen members of the hip hop elite and called it a night.

To cap off the intimacy of the whole event, my sister was asked to pose with Ghostface for a photo while holding his new single at the merch table. And as a small town kid, I’m not ashamed to say I had a fit of school girl giggles over the matter.