Busta Rhymes is the definition of exuberance. You can feel it in every one of his records. His wild flow knocked over heads when he first burst on to the scene with the riot-inducing 'Woo Ha I Got You All In Check.' Ever since then, the Brooklyn emcee has put out consistent hip hop to test the mind and move the body, with the exception of last years more commercial aimed 'It Ain't Safe No more'. Nevertheless, a Busta Rhymes concert was always going to be wild packing more punch than a shotgun to the ribcage.

As usual, the ticket says 7:30pm, but Busta didn't arrive on stage till 9:45. In the meantime, we were treated to some excellent breakdancing and beatboxing, Killa Kenna is one of the sickest beatboxers I’ve ever heard, thought not quite on the level as Rahzel, his rendition of Suzanne Vega’s "Tom’s Diner" left the crowd wilding out in awe. Then some UK R'n'B artist came out with the usual formulaic bullshit which simply forced half the crowd to go get a drink. What were they thinking putting on an R'n'B artist at a Busta Rhymes concert?

Anyway, when the clock struck quarter to 10 and resident DJ of the Flipmode Squad DJ Scratch had gotten the entire crowd on their feet by breaking into 2pac and Biggie's 'Runnin' the show started. Busta and Spliff Star walked casually onto stage, with the man himself possessing a kind of God like aura. Suddenly his track 'Strutting Like A GOD' made perfect sense. But inside the calm interior was an animal, and as Scratch played the intro to Ante Up, the crowd's arms raised and began to bounce like we were stood on a rubber floor, the beats was unleashed. Busta then went through just a small portion of his catalogue of vast guest appearances, from Lumidee's 'Never Leave' to Joe Buddens 'Fire'. The crowd however still weren't buzzing like the man on stage requested, so there was only one thing for it. As Spliff Star announced "give em some classic shit", everyone knew it was 'Woo Ha' time. The crowd lost control as the intro kicked in, although it was hard not to fall about in laughter hearing a 5'000 strong crowd scream 'Woo Ha' at the tops of their voices.

One thing that became quickly evident was that around a third of the crowd weren't big Busta Rhymes fans. They'd probably heard the odd tune, like this years smash "I Know What You Want' with Mariah Carey. Random people were just stood still, arms crossed looking very nervous not knowing what to do with themselves. Obviously virgins when it comes to rap concerts. The bouncing around and flailing arms do look ridiculous, and sometimes you feel ridiculous doing it. But Busta kept saying he was here to have fun, and that's what we'd paid £22.50 to do. Busta went through a back-catalogue of sure fire party starters such as 'Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See', 'Gimme Some More', 'What It Is', and 'Holla', but still, there were segments of this crowd who were unbelievably not moved. I think half of the crowd would have been happier to hear Busta put on a stage act. It was obvious why he won 'Live Performer of the Year 2003' at the Source Awards. Before most songs, there was an intro of sorts, where Busta would set a scenario that would create a seamless link for the song. But every time, Busta managed to get a roar of laughter from the crowd, particularly before he kicked into the song everyone had been waiting for 'Break Ya Neck'. Busta described it as fight music, so how do you create a link into that? Start a fight!

There was a mixture of clientele attending this concert, but there were of course the generic hip hop fans. The ones who stand around with a mean expression on their face and arms folded. Not usually someone you'd want to pick a fight with, but, Busta Rhymes wanted everyone to have fun and the person he singled out was not having fun. So, after continuous taunts of calling the guy "pussy", Busta called for all the water to be brought out from backstage. On his command, 4 guys came out carrying bottles of water. Taking one of the bottles, Busta looked at the guy n said, "you a pussy so I’m gonna make you wet like a pussy". So he and Spliff Start began throwing the water all over the guy, but as the guy began to scower for cover, Busta and Spliff leapt into the stage to get right on top of him and soak him. This brought out the biggest reaction from the crowd all night as they cheered and applauded. This set the mood perfectly for 'Break ya Neck'. The crowd was hyped and this song could only take it through the roof. As Busta kicked in his furiously paced rapping, the crowd began cheering as he went through bar after bar of rhyme without pausing for breath. As Busta stopped and started the song 3 times, the crowd only grew more excited every time. Busta had finally gotten the reaction out of Manchester he wanted. Looking around, arms were bouncing, people were jumping, he had had to work bloody hard for it, but finally he'd won the crowd. A quick run through his verse on the remix of Bone Crusher's 'Never Scared' and Busta finished the show in one big party with his colossal hit, 'Pass The Courvoisier Pt II'.

Busta finished by promising to return, although I’m not so sure he meant it. I'd definitely pay to see his return though, whilst not the best concert I’ve been to, Busta certainly is the best entertainer I’ve ever seen. For me, the only disappointment of the evening were the exclusion of some of his records I believed would be sure-starters at the concert, the likes of 'Fire', 'Call An Ambulance' and 'As I Come Back' all failed to appear. I guess this is only down to personal taste, and I would still say the £22.50 asking price of the ticket was justified.