It’s one thing when fans go crazy over an artist who’s in town. But when the artists in question are equally mad, it can make for some explosive chemistry. Just ask anyone who packed into Avalon a week ago Tuesday for a visit from three Wu-Tang stars, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, and Masta Killa. Each was promoting a solo project, and the always loquacious Method Man stole the show. But working together, they all turned Avalon into the 37th Chamber for an evening.

Meth seemed more interested in rapping while crowd-surfing than in doing it on stage. And that only hints at how hyped up he was. “I’ve been to Beantown before,” the Shaolin assassin told the crowd. (Most recently at Axis in August as a part of a “secret” MySpace show.) “And I know that if there was 10 people in here, it would sound like 30,000.” Okay. He then asked the ladies in the house to pop their tops before he started dancing on the bar, doing front flips into the crowd, and moshing with fans during a set that included a bunch of old Wu favorites and newer jams from his latest, 4:21: The Day After (Def Jam). At one point he donned a Red Sox cap for a spirited rendition of “How High,” and he was open enough to admit that “What the Blood Clot,” a track from his 1994 solo debut, Tical (Def Jam), was still one his personal favorites. Other highlights included “Triumph,” for which he was joined by Inspectah Deck, and the anthemic “Wu Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta Fuck Wit.”

There were high points during the opening sets as well, including Deck’s rendition of the Wu’s “C.R.E.A.M.” But when Meth performed “Da Rockwilder” from the middle of the Avalon floor while standing on the outstretched arms of the crowd and then asked, “You ever see someone do some shit like that before?”, the answer was obvious. How you gonna beat that?

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