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LO-DOM ^By G-LoSean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs raps in N.H. meadowP. DIDDY BAD BOY RECORDS PRESENT.Vs*t INVI PIT 1: r 7 HEMl*P. Diddy is coming to Meadowbrook Farm in Gilford on Sept. 8. Let’s get crazy with the Cheez-Wiz: make a huge welcome banner and hire a local school band to greet him and his entourage to really solidify our hillbilly status.Actually, this is quite the coup for New Hampshire and northern New England in general. As anyone who watched Adam Sandler por-Gina Carbone tray a New Hampshire-ite in “Mr. Deeds can tell you, we’re hicks to most people. If they don’t picture us out in the woods huntin’ and fishin’ with a six pack hanging from our lumberjack suspenders, they don’t picture us at all.Sandler, who once lived in that thriving metropolis, Manchester, had a rare chance to show us as something more and chose the stereotype. (Et tu, Happy Gilmore?)Perhaps the coming of Sean “P. Diddy Combs is just what we need to break us out of our insulated shells and show the world we are more than the place where “On Golden Pond was filmed. Besides, he might bring J.What: Sean “P. Diddy Combs concertWhere: Meadowbrook Farm, GilfordWhen: Sunday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m.Cost: $34. Tickets are available at all Strawberries, select New Hampshire F-Y-E locations and the Meadowbrook boz office.Call: (603) 293 4700Online: www.meadowbrooktick-ets.comLo and we could see what the new fashions will be (and snap photos to sell for millions on eBay).So who is this Combs fellow?In addition to being a rap mogul; clothing designer; prolific hit music producer; former best friend to murdered Bad Boy Records comrade Notorious BIG; famous ex of Jennifer “J.Lo Lopez; father to a son named Justin; owner of a restaurant called Justin’s; creator of a charity called “Daddy’s House which gives money to the kids of New York for computer camps, etc.; actor in respected films like “Monster’s Ball; and purveyor of multiple titles, Sean Combs — aka Puff Daddy, aka P Diddy — is a performer.And not just any performer — an apparently shrewd, discerning one who found time in his busy schedule to tour not just the big cities in the nation, but rural venues like Meadowbrook Farm in Gilford.Not that Meadowbrook Farmisn’t a major summer destination — they have a pavilion roof covering more than 3,000 reserved seats making it New Hampshire’s largest amphitheater. And not that Meadowbrook doesn't go out of its way to vary the entertainment beyond Styx, Jour ney and Kansas. But with a down-home country name in the middle of a state not exactly renowned for its gritty street cred — (“Welcome to the Granite State” doesn’t quite seduce) — Meadowbrook has its work cut out for itself to bring in young, hip, “edgy artists and their loyal fans.But they seem to be getting it done.“We’ve had rap performers before,” says John Vorel, spokesman for Meadowbrook Farm, “and try to have a diverse musical lineup that includes all types of music for all age groups.Hip-hop favorite Ja Rule played on July 10 and Busta Rhymes is coming on July 25. Then again, they also have Sammy Hagar David Lee Roth on August 27, Meat Loaf on August 31 and sandwiched Combs in between Jethro Tull on Sept. 1 and Alan Jackson on Sept. 14. As long as everyone keeps their dates straight, it should work out.Meadowbrook’s booking agent made contact with Combs, and when he found out the mogul was available to do a concert inthis region he understandably jumped at the chance to sign him. Combs has a big name, probably recognized all the way up to Dixville Notch, where several people surely empathize with the frustrations of “Mo’ money, Mo’ problems.So what if Puffy pulls a Sybil as often as Prince/symbol and Eminem/Slim Shady/Marshall Mathers and remixed his way to greatness through the help of Sting’s “Every Breath You Takeand “Roxanne? He really was quite affecting in “Monster’s Ball and I’m sure the food at his restaurant is excellent.Besides, if Cher can sell out in Manchester, what message from the Granite State would be sent to the world if P.Diddy can’t sell out in Gilford. The horror!— Gina Carbone, who is irritatingly known as G-Lo for this column, is a staff writer for Seacoast Newspapers.
Newspaper Details
York Weekly
York, Maine, US
Wed, Jul 10, 2002
Page 45
Full Page
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USA 26 Sep 2024
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