Show Review: The Future of Hip-Hopx3

Main Act: El-P, Dizzee Rascal
Opening Acts: Busdriver
Venue: Neumos

I’m not sure what to say about this show, but I know one thing: It was fucking awesome. I’ve been having good luck recently. All the shows I’ve gone to recently have either had good opening acts or none at all. Seeing as how this show was my first Hip-Hop show, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I got my monies worth with every act that evening, and I left with a grin still painted on my face. Doors opened at 8:00 and Busdriver started about 9:00. I’m not sure how long he performed for, but it was good… if impossible to understand. That was for a couple of reasons, the first and foremost being that Busdriver raps extremely fast, barely slowing down to catch his breath. He was so fast (and so high) that I could often hardly understand what he was saying, but I understood enough to like it and I was more impressed later when I realized he was free styling. He put in a valiant effort to entertain us, and my immediate thought after it was over was “I’m going to have to get something by him.” So I did.

But moving on, after Busdriver, Dizzee Rascal’s DJ played a solo set, which was so bass heavy I could feel my brain rattling around in my skull. That’s the thing that really threw me about this show, the bass. It rumbled, pulsed and from time to time pushed me back from the stage. And I thought TooL was heavy… After that Dizzee Rascal trooped on to the stage and the energy in the room rocketed up. Most people were here to see him and it showed. And he was an excellent showman, far better than his records would show. Part of it is the environment, there’s no call and response with the crowd on “Sirens” like there is when it’s live. It was the stuff like that, the call and response, the crowd becoming a part of it that made that part of the show for me. I left with much more respect for Dizzee Rascal than when I began. This is not to discredit him; I’m just not as interested in his work as I am in, say, El-P’s. After all, that’s who I was there to see.

There was a short break after Dizzee’s Set and then El-P was up. This is also where I really got into it. El-P is the artist I credit with getting me into Hip-Hop. I regard “I’ll Sleep When You’re Dread” as one of the greatest Hip-Hop albums ever. So to see him live was sort of like bringing it full circle. Knowing all the words and choruses was even more fun with El-P then it was with Dizzee. A few highlight were things like; a brief interlude of A Tribe Called Quest’s “Can I Kick It?” which the crowed (including myself) loved. El-P’s stuff can be dark though, actually hearing “Stepfather Factory” and “Poisenville Kids” live was depressing, if still entertaining. Others like “Smithereens” and “Run the Numbers” also had great chorus moments, my personal favorite being “Find those Detonators” on “Numbers”. Mr. Dibbs (The DJ) did a solo jam, El-P talked politics (He thinks the election is rigged and we’re all doomed) and I was considerably deafened. All and all, an excellent show and a fun evening. I got home at 1:00 in the morning and was exhausted all day the next day… but it was worth it.

Dizzee Rascal Set (Incomplete, In No Particular Order)

-Sirens
-Where’s Da G’s?
-Paranoid
-Flex
-Bubbles?
-Temptation
-G.H.E.T.T.O.
And More…

El-P Set (Incomplete, In No Particular Order)

-Tasmanian Pain Coaster (Short Version)
-Smithereens (Stop Cryin’)
-Up All Night
-EMG (Everything Must Go)
-Run the Numbers (Short Version)
-The Overly Dramatic Truth
-No Kings
-The League of Extraordinary Nobodies
-Poisenville Kids/No Wins
-Can I Kick It? /Mr. Dibbs Jam 1
-Mr. Dibbs Jam 2
-Stepfather Factory
And More…