Mar 05
DaraGangsta Rap, Hip Hop, Motown, Old School, Soul, Underground Hip Hop
I liked this guy a lot but I’m not positive that’s his name – I thought he was calling himself Rick Undercut… he came out in a stupid fake long clumpy beard but he worked the crowd (unlike last guy), he moved quickly through his songs (which always pleases my quick-process style) and played a diverse mix of soul, hardcore rap, and sleazy 70s funk, he did a little bit of scratching but mostly was attentive and interactive, he had an unfortunately drab voice but it didn’t hurt him too much
Mar 05
DaraGangsta Rap, Hip Hop, Old School, Underground Hip Hop
Kool Keith deserves all of this intro crap since I was waiting for him but the DJ who annoyed me is going to get it all instead… I, like an old unhip girl, believed the hype that the Mohawk was obeying noise ordinances and running shows early. So I showed up at 9pm on the dot and waited for, count them, 2 ½ hours – I was counting them. The crowd stopped being interesting after about 17 minutes. The crowd was diverse – there were actually black people at a Red River show – there’s hope for Austin yet – otherwise there were hipsters, kickers, frat boys and a ton of stoners. As I sat there, I thought, I love the Austin music scene… and it has a smell. Then I met a girl who looked like a roller derby girl but wasn’t, but she was friends with one. She’d been beat up by her best girl friend of 25 years and had a broken foot. I knew she wasn’t Texan because she was at this show (San Diego) and she guessed my height exactly (9’ ½”). As I waited longer, I figured out the smell: fresh humid air, cigarette smoke (mild b/c smoking’s generally banned), the sweet sweet smell of pot (if you’re at a hip-hop show), stale alcohol (I’m only saying that because I feel like I should – the music scene smell is in reality too good to include this), and MALE PHEROMONE. So, anyway, we all sat or stood politely while good club/hip-hop music played. And then finally, there was somebody on stage. Apparently a “DJ,” he played music of the same sort that had been playing over the speakers while we waited but with more frequent segueways. I have a minor fascination with DJs but I either want to be backstage to see the technical action or be totally impressed by the mixing, scratching, etc. Although his music was very good, it wasn’t his, and he didn’t have the fancy tricks to redeem him. I can’t even remember what he looked like.
Jun 11
DaraGangsta Rap, Hip Hop, Underground Hip Hop
I’ll try not to gush but this was one of my top shows ever along with the likes of The Slits and Cracker… in a state of delight throughout, though it’s in part because this band and I are simpatico it’s also because they are so thoroughly authentic unlike Kanye West or Johnny Cash for example, they simply satisfy every hip-hop need I have and repeatedly, so The RZA was the mastermind behind the Wu-Tang Clan, he did some of his solo stuff and some but not enough Wu-Tang stuff, the latter drove the crowd into a frenzy but the former was not bad either, they have the straightline rapping and quick turnaround beats that make hip hop good but are gorgeous because of their orchestral backdrops, most songs have a booming underrun of dark drone which reminded me of Flatlinerz though the Wu-Tang is 1000 times better, the Kung Fu movie references are silly and endearing to me but not sure that’s the intention, some of it is so raw that it’s noticeably under-produced but that’s kind of the point for me, anyway back to the show, he was backed by a keyboard, DJ, bass guitarist, some female vocalists and a whole cadre of foolish up and comers and groupies from the audience – he even looked annoyed by one of his boys who had drank/done too much, it was like being at a cult meeting what with the upraised hands in W position but a cult I actually wanted to join which is atypical for me, there’s an eerie owl hoot that recurs in their songs and this fool white beanie-and-bizarre-glasses-wearing boy behind me kept screaming it to the point of hilarity for me
Jun 11
DaraGangsta Rap, Hip Hop
really not good, sounded canned, little guy with tons of energy was cute, were trying so hard to be hard but really only had one decent song
Jun 11
DaraGangsta Rap, Hip Hop, Underground Hip Hop
he was fine, sounds similar to The RZA, got angry with the DJ periodically
Jun 11
DaraHip Hop, Trip Hop
good white boy hip-hop DJ with a nervous lack of stage presence, supposedly the local opener for many hip-hop shows according to the fool young one who hit on me and then asked me to buy him a drink
Oct 16
DaraHip Hop, Prog Rock
oh my god they sucked ass, interesting concept—three prog guitarists with a cheerleader hip-hop girl and a gawky girl, high energy and no grab, they had their 70s moments I guess and the prog without hip-hop girl was fine but overall just CRAP
Sep 19
DaraFunk, Hip Hop
just didn’t impress, that bland white-boy soul rap aura (they’re black though) which annoys me, they’re actually more of a funk band
Sep 21
DaraFunk, Hip Hop, Jazz
jazz-funk overlaid with rap, rap annoyed—juvenile, slur-messy style—lyrics about school, harmonica nice addition, groove but always the same, Jack Johnson helped start show with two ballads
Sep 21
DaraHip Hop, Jazz
more jazz than hip-hop, disappointing, think they were there last year too
Sep 20
DaraHip Hop, Underground Hip Hop
Franti hails from Disposable Heroes and Beatnigs, lively, hip-hop to true rap, rock, smart (“socio-political”) but crowd-pleasing lyrics, very enjoyable
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