DMX was in town last night celebrating the 20 Year Anniversary of his classic album, It's Dark and Hell Is Hot. I honestly had no ticket and no guest list hook up so I really didn't plan on being there. I planned on ending my evening with some exercise and a nice walk at the park near my crib.... That didn't happen, as I ended up getting a pair of tickets to the Kiss (yes, the legendary rock band Kiss) concert, who was playing at Amalie Arena. I also ended up linking with up DMX's long time DJ, DJ Non-Stop. I was out side the Ritz kicking with with Non-Stop and the Hip Hop legend DJ Charlie Chase (Cold Crush Brothers). DMX was still in route and running just a little bit late. They both told me I had to go see Kiss since it was their last tour ever.... I had seen DMX a few times live already so why not bounce to the Kiss concert. I grabbed an Uber over to Amalie and was able to catch a good portion of the Kiss show. (pics and video below)
After Kiss went into their classic Rock N Roll All Night, I bounced and caught a ride back to my car in Ybor. When I got there, the DMX show was in full swing and I somehow snuck in the back door and ended up on stage... (shouts to Chef).
The Ritz was wall to wall packed with DMX fans and he didn't disappoint. He ran through hit after hit with the crowd singing along to all of them. After the show, there was a large crowd of fans out back near his tour bus, hoping to catch a DMX when he left. Little did they know, DMX was in the mood to play some pool. Instead of of walking out back to the tour bus, he snuck out the front of the club and walked across the street to Ybor City's Reservoir Bar, where I ended up playing a couple games with some locals.
A pretty crazy night.. Check some of my photos and videos below:
-DJ Sandman
DMX playing some pool at Ybor City's Reservoir Bar:
...and as I said, DMX was running just a little bit late, so I snuck over to see Kiss at Amalie Arena.
Here's a few photos of that as well