So, I was at Definitive Jux's website, looking for a good picture to pilfer of El-P, and I noticed the full schedule of his "I'll Sleep When You're Dead Tour", and I discovered that he's playing in New York tonight, and I don't get to New York until Monday night. The fact that I'm slightly irritated about not being able to see the show again tells me something about the show that we thought was the climax of a string of truly stellar hip-hop to come to the Cat's Cradle. (We thought it was the end, but last night the Cradle added a free show by Little Brother- click here to RSVP and get in.)
The opening act was Slow Suicide Stimulus. I had heard one track of theirs because of an alleged guest appearance by Aesop Rock, but if Aesop is on it, it isn't for long enough that I've been able to nail it down (either that, or he's rapping the brief hook. Or maybe I'm just insane.) Their live show was pretty much what I expected, only a little longer.
Next was Yak Ballz, who is inexplicably part of the underground supergroup The Weathermen. If the Weathermen were the Traveling Wilburys, Yak would be Jeff Lynne. Only less accomplished. His performance wasn't actually bad, more just sort of... bland. He's not actually a bad rapper, but he's indistinuishable from a whole other set of indy rappers.
Third was Hangar 18, who I was actually looking forward to. Both their album, Multiplatinum Debut Album (as they said at the show, "We took care of the "Debut Album" part, it's up to y'all to take care of the "Multiplatinum part. We did our half.") and the Donkey Show EP are fun, slightly off-beat pieces of underground hip-hop. In concert, this was hip hop made for the pure joy of the music, for the fun of moving a crowd and doing what you want to do. They played some of the key cuts off of MPDA, including "Beatslope", which was my introduction to the group on the Def Jux Presents 3 album. And, I'm happy to report, I got both members to sign my copy of their album. The streak continues.
Finally was El-Producto, the genius at the heart of Company Flow, the founder of the Def Jux record label, one of the most important figures in undeground Hip Hop, and, most importantly, one hell of an MC and producer. For his show, El-P went all out- projectors and screens, fog effects on stage, a live bassist and keyboardist (both dressed in fatigues, as was his DJ, Mr. Dibbs and his hype man, the Mighty Quinn). El-P came out with his face painted with wounds, and launched into "Tazmanian Pain Coaster". He played a series of cuts off of his instant-classic solo debut, "Fantastic Damage" and his recent follow-up, "I'll Sleep When You're Dead", including Deep Space Nine Millimeter (during which a stage diver, an unusal phenomenon at a hip hop show, landed on my surgically repaired right shoulder and knocked off my cap. Luckily a good soul behind me picked up my cap, and my shoulder seems to be fine.) "Smithereens" and "Flyentology" (during which the animatics for the music video were projected). Before "Up All Night", El-P gave the required anti-war rant at any and all hip hop shows, but managed to hit the heart of the matter- he was pissed off, first and foremost, not about Bush or oil or Halliburton, but about the fact that "good motherfuckers" were dying at such a steady and tragic clip over lies. The show seemed a litttle shorter than a lot of headliners' performances recently, and the encore consisted of only one song ("Stepfather Factory"), but I couldn't complain. And after the show, he signed my copy of "Fantastic Damage" at the merch table, (which is the most important thing, really).
So, even though the first two acts were mediocre and dull, respectively, I nearly had my shoulder torn apart and lost my cap, the encore was only one song, and yet, I was still a little irritated not to get to do it all again. Call it just another working example of faith vs. physics.
ADDENDUM: I finally pinned down the music that played as El-P's band took the stage. It was "Mad World", but not the Tears for Fears version. Rather, it was the version done by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules" did for Donnie Darko (which is one of those movies I've never seen, but people assume I have seen, and I usaually don't correct them.) All things considered, Sage's entrance music is my favorite (American Pie- the real version) but El-P's fit the overall millieu and ambience more neatly. You can all resume not caring now.
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