Even though it's the third of the month, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony will still take the stage tonight at Crowbar, 420 E. College Ave.
The Cleveland-based quartet of speed rappers will pour their lightning flow over the crowd tonight with the help of local hip-hop openers, The Collective.
Bone Thugs goes out of its way in its press releases and new video to say it hasn't broken up, despite several solo projects from Bizzy, Krayzie, Layzie and Wish Bone. Its new album, Thug World Order, reiterates the notion with songs such as, Guess Who's Back and Resurrection.
Bone Thugs is another notch on the bedpost for The Collective, which has opened for Busta Rymes, Naughty by Nature, The Marleys and Ja Rule. The six-piece band's frontman, Kermit Alphonso, said his band is honored to get the crowd ready for Bone Thugs.
"To open for Bone Thugs is another way for us to be heard by a lot of people," Alphonso said after their gig at The Lagoon in Philadelphia. "We are very excited about it."
Alphonso said tonight's show with Bone Thugs will be a one-time gig, as each band is touring separately. But if history repeats itself, The Collective may be following the Bone Thug bus through a few more cities.
"When we opened for Busta [Rhymes] in Florida, we ended up playing a few shows with him," he said. After The Collective charges Crowbar tonight, Alphonso said he'll jump into the crowd to watch Bone Thugs rip though four albums of material -- five albums with stark differences in their levels of success.
"What they've done is come back after a quiet time. They're still making music," said Dave Wells, director of operations at Crowbar. "They have had kind of a prolific history."
Wells said the Bone Thugs' departure from the public eye would make for a more diverse concert, adding a surprise element for the group's on-and-off fans and people just getting into the band.
"[The concert] will bring something for people who may have heard of them and it brings something to someone starting to listen to them now," Wells said.
The all-age show starts at 9 p.m., when The Collective takes the stage. Doors open an hour earlier. Tickets are $20.
