Band practice was an interesting concept for the surprise shows P.O.S. (Stef Alexander) played around the twin cities this week. Preparing for Coachella Music Festival this Friday, Alexander dropped some subtle hints via Twitter and tested the waters with a performance much different then the standard DJ and MC combination.
Blending together a slew of talented musicians seems to be the haps in Minneapolis these days. It's rare to come across someone who is making music and isn't in multiple bands. While that may be normal, now it's become quite genre bending and it's been a really amazing thing to watch unfold. Alexander and his DJ Plain Ole Bill teamed up with drummer Ben Ivascu, Isaac Gale who you may have seen filming and taking pictures on the every never is now tour now singing, screaming and playing guitar, Ryan Olson described by Alexander as playing instruments you wont understand blend together to bring these songs to a whole new place.
Encouraging the crowed to sing along if you know the words, add in on the "ohhhs" and mosh when appropriate P.O.S. still embodied the charismatic performer we all know. Being backed up by a band of musicians buzzing with energy and playing nearly flawless sets, really did not come across as a practice run at all. Ivascu on the drums, is nearly show stealing adding a backing to the already thunderous beats of songs from Never Better and P.O.S is ruining my life added a lair that you almost can't imagine the songs without. The addition of these truly talented musicians brings a rap set to an entirely new level. If you're at Coachella this weekend, this is a performance that shouldn't be missed. And for everyone else, if we're lucky Alexander will take this line up on the next tour, because it really is something to be seen.
When it comes to packing I raise chaos to an art form so it was an event bordering on miraculous when I was packed and ready to roll a record breaking five minutes before my ride to the airport. For me there is something strangely calming about finally touching down at MSP and it was a truly beautiful Thursday evening in Minneapolis when I arrived. Linked up with Crista at the lightrail station on Franklin and we were off. A lazy evening spent gossiping about hip hop and the impending weekend. We managed to swoop through Last of the Record Buyers for a bit. I wish I could have caught one while they were still at the Dinkytowner, it just felt odd at Fifth Element. It will be interesting to see if they keep it there and how that works out.
I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was for this weekend. It was all a blissful blur. After arriving in Minneapolis May 23rd, the first activity on the list was the Big Quarters release party at the Triple Rock. The line wrapped around the building, and the night was buzzing with taxis blaring hip hop, scenesters complaining about life, and triple rock regulars guzzling drinks barside. The show started an hour later than posted, but I wasn't very surprised. Any hip hop show I've been to goes by the same formula: they say 8, you come at 9. The lineup was a menagerie of local talent. The energy even in the line was so amazing to me. I was bouncing from one end to another hugging, laughing and catching up with old and new friends alike. It was just a beautiful community vibe and it makes me sad that a lot of those kids I only get to catch up with in person this one weekend a year.
First to open was Crescent Moon. A favorite of mine since P.O.S.'sIpecac Neat was released ("Spanish rice, burritos and a plate of fish. Man that sounds good as hell, I'm tastin' it") He gave a great performance with abrasive beats infused with native drums and a darker undertone. He did some spoken word and reinforced why I'm such a fan. He has a presence about him that is abrasive and arresting, but not intimidating. Oddjobs, Kill the Vultures, Roma di Luna, Crescent Moon is in Big Trouble... You name it if Crescent Moon is on it I can pretty much garuntee it falls into my comfort food of music catagory. You'll never catch me missing out on an opportunity to catch Kill the Vultures (Ecce Beast!) Next was Big Zach (of Kanser) with Alissa Paris whose hair was a memorable throwback to the 80's flat top. She got a lot of compliments on her style, and I agreed: not many people can pull that look off. Big Zach (the host as well) did a few songs, one including a tribute song to the history of the Minneapolis rap scene and the legends of which it has been comprised. It was a big hit and had a lot of names I recognized. I've always enjoyed his warm stage presence and light-hearted nature. Big Zach is good people. Lastly before Big Quarters came on was Mankwe (you've probably seen her sing backup for Atmosphere on their many tours). She sauntered on the stage with an aura of elegance, and stimulated the audience with jazz-and-spoken-word infused songs with only an electric bass as an accompaniment until her last song, where Medium Zach joined and played a jazzy-tribal beat for a single from her album. Her songs were an eclectic mix of sass and soul.
When Big Quarters came onstage, the audience was enamored and ecstatic. The first song was full of energy, and every audience member had their hands up. With guests such as Toki Wright, M.anifest, I.Self.Divine., and P.O.S., it was pure fun. The audience was compelled to dance and the beats rocked our rib cages. They performed for almost an hour and had the audience involved the whole time. Great show! I have so much respect for what these guys do and how dedicated they are to both their craft and their fans. You can see it in the reciprocated energy of their audience at every show they play. If you haven't been checking them yet times a wasting! I'm plugging this again because I think its a really great deal and a perfect example of just how hard Big Quarters grinds. $5 a month for 5 new songs every month. June featured Toki Wright and a Mux Mool remix of Hand Over Fist's Prizefight. Do yourself a favor and become a "Director" nooooww.
Soundset Soundset Soundset. I'm going to just say it Soundset 2009 was about a hundred times better then 2008. I even shock myself when saying that, I mean Aesop Rock was at '08... Mac Lethal was at '08... it was still in MINNEAPOLIS in '08. I don't think it had anything to do with the lineup, or the location, but the people really made it great this year. I had a chance to meet a bunch of people from Lethalville... and come on Internet message board friends... what could be better? Friends came in town from all over, including London, and I couldn't walk more then 10 feet without running into someone I knew. Everyone seemed to get along, despite the one dirty ass cat fight we did witness. Sage and I decided the vibe was similar to Scribble Jam.
My biggest and only (aside from the parking disaster and food tickets) complaint this year has to be where in the world was Mac Lethal? Honestly Grieves repped it hard for Black Clover on the Fifth stage but I know Crista and I were not the only ones grumbling and rumbling about the shunning of Mac Lethal. Grieves was on of my favorite sets of the day I'm more and more impressed with the addition of Budo to the live show every time I see it and seeing Lovefest favorite, Macklemore, get up and do a song with them was a treat as well (respect the Rick Ross piece.)
The weather was gorgous and it was nice to be able to check in and spend some time with so many other out of towners and locals. I'm pretty sure I'm still in hug withdrawal from that weekend. (more hugs please!) I got crispy to Hand Over Fist. I'm pretty sure Lazerbeak is one of the happiest dudes on the planet. Sims kept shit rowdy with promises of a winter release. (Yes please!) Doomtree block was solid as usual.
I was most stoked about seeing El-P perform, the last time he was in town my friends dragged me to Nappy Roots and I had to miss his show. So I was not about to miss him again this time. It was a main-stage show, and I really don't do well in big crowds, I'm about 5'2" and always end up behind the tallest man alive. So I kicked in the bleachers with Salina and Abjekt which was perfect. Dibbs as always was great to watch, and El was almost what I expected. A little more energy wouldn't have hurt, it almost seemed like he confused the crowed who at that point were posted up waiting for Atmosphere. I'm not going to lie, I totally played the fan girl at the after party, and went up to El and was terrified. I've always been a Defjux kinda girl and admire the way he runs the label; and who knows when he opportunity to express that would arise again, plus I'm pretty forward I tend to blurt out anything most of the time anyway. So I was lucky enough to thank him for what he does, and he was very responsive and appreciative which is always refreshing.
Most of the day for me was spent wandering around, watching a few minutes of a set here and there, and bullshitting. I think this what brought me back to scribble jam the most. It was just a great mix of like minded people hanging out. A lot of the day was spent with Mes and Marolyn while the held it down at their booth.((shameless blog promo for fresherthan.com)) It is always great to have a home-base at this kinda thing, and that was definitely it.
The theme of the day was definitely hanging out with good people and home base was the GCS booth. Mes and Marolyn were kind enough to share their shade and company throughout the day. Sososo much love to our Fresher Than friends. *cough*downloadSTEALINGSTARS*cough* Ahem.
The only other set I HAD TO SEE was Buck 65. Buck held down the 5th element stage while MF Doom did his thing on the main stage. I've always loved Buck, and didn't want to miss his performance which a good size crowed stuck around for. I really didn't have any desire to see Doom, and still don't know if it was even him? The verdict ruled he actually did show up, after missing his original performance time. Buck danced, and dj'd his way through a good sized site, including Wicked and Weird, Roses and Bluejays, and Centaur. It was kind of that camp-fire sing along vibe surrounded by indie rap kids in a parking lot under direct sunlight. I can easily say this was my favorite performance of the day.
YES! Buck 65 was hands down the Lovefest pick for Soundset 2009 MVP. If you only caught one act this year his was the one to watch. So good.
After party! I think this will always be my favorite part of Soundset weekend. After a grueling hot day in the sun its a collective sigh of relief to finally relax indoors red faced and grimy but blissfully content. A quick breather, drinks, dancing your ass off, more hugs and hip hop karaoke. The homies Patric and Ander both killed it. Ander doing E&A with a little help from Eyedea and less help from Abilities was a highlight of the night. I caught Crista doing some hip hop of her own as witnessed above. Can't wait to see everyone again next year! KC holler at your girls in September and NY, Crista and I will be seeing you in October. <3
Jamee,Crista & Salina
Soundset Crowd. 14,000 people plus!
B-Boy Battles featuring Mr. Dibbs on the 1's and 2's
Crista, Patric & Salina @Soundset afterparty '09 courtesty of Patric.
p.s. I (Salina) am doomed to never catch El Guante live. Doomed. Sadface, exclamation point, doomed.
Let’s ignore the fact that I’m the most neglectful and perhaps laziest contributor on this blog, and cut to the chase. I saw Dessa last night, and I am now going to attempt to convey exactly how freaking ridiculously amazing the show was. My friend Rahel and I initially had concert and bus tickets to see Atmosphere, Brother Ali, and Attracted to Gods in Washington DC last night, but we decided that we could, should, and would skip seeing them a third time in a row (after Boston and Philly) in order to see THE Dessa.
Dessa posted about the show only a couple days before the date, so we all conjured up our own elaborate explanations about how this show came about and what the show would be like. Mike and I were holding out hope that Dessa would bring Cecil or Sims or another Doomtree-er out, and we were both convinced that it would be a really intimate setting that would make for a really personal and especially heartfelt performance.
The hypothesizing continued right up until the show started. My cousin Farzana, Rahel, and I arrived at the venue a good two hours ahead of time. As many of you know, I’m not the most mature person in the world so I proceeded to go wild over the fact that patrons were allowed to use crayons to color on the butcher paper table coverings. I colored my best (and still laughable) attempt wings and teeth and made my dream playlist, while Rahel got busy with the Doomtree stamp.
Keeping one eye on our artistic creations on the table and another eye on the door, I soon noticed a woman walking around with a Dessa shirt. I pounced on her, only to find out that she was Dessa’s aunt. This woman was so ridiculously sweet. She was so proud of Dessa, talking about how talented, intelligent, and beautiful Dessa was. It always makes me so happy to see family members talk about musicians. She told us how Dessa grew up with her aunts always harmonizing around her, and how that influences her music today. The pride that family members have, coupled with their insights about a musician, are just so interesting and adorable to me. Plus, this wom an was cheering like crazy during Dessa’s set. Family is the best.
Really though, it was no surprise that her aunt was having such a good time because Dessa’s set was absolutely incredible. I know that I have a tendency to reuse the same extreme adjectives to describe music and concerts, but I only do so because I am genuinely moved by all of these things. It may have been because the venue was a low-key bar, but Dessa performed more of her melancholy, slower songs. Listening to her on Kites, If & When, and on the singing parts of 551 was just mesmerizing. I would have liked to hear songs like Veteran or Scuffle (BECAUSE SALINA SAID SO OVER AND OVER AGAIN!), but I can see why she might have opted not do those. With every song she did, she put every last ounce of herself into the performance. From the way she held the mic, to the way she twitched her mouth or raised her eyebrows, to the way she looked at the crowd, you could tell that she was fully encapsulated by the song. I’ve noticed that Louis Logic does this too, but I think Dessa has absolutely perfected it. Every movement compliments the song, bringing her stories to life with such an authenticity and emotion that you can’t help but be in complete awe. And this is where the song selection makes sense again. They completely lend themselves to a dimly lit, intimate, bare/simple, and ultimately deeply personal performance. And talking to Rahel and Farzana afterwards, they both agreed that that subtlety is what makes Dessa so amazing. From the way she dresses to the way she performs, everything is so stripped down that you’re left just starring at her raw and unbridled talent. I think what made it all even more special is knowing how talented she is, and knowing that small performances like this are going to be so rare in years to come when she gets all the fame, fortune, and fans that she undoubtedly deserves. And if the new material she performed was any indication of what is in store for Dessa, then the world better watch out. The spoken word pieces she performed, and the two brand new songs she performed were just too freaking good.
Given the total sense of admiration and amazement I felt for her performance, it was an absolute pleasure to interview her for Hip-Hop Lovefest’s first ever vlog. I asked her some questions about her professorship, her collaborations with other Minneapolis cats, how she feels about being a female in a male-dominated industry (the creativity of that question really threw you guys off didn’t it?!), and what’s in store for Dessa and Doomtree. So check it out!
Alrighty, that’s all from me. If you can’t get through my beastly novel of a blog post, then this is the short version: DROP WHATEVER ELSE YOU’RE DOING AND SEE DESSA LIVE. IF IT MEANS SKIPPING ANOTHER CONCERT, DO IT. IF IT MEANS TRAVELING TO THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, DO IT. SHE IS DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY SOMEONE YOU HAAAAAAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE HAVE TO SEE!
PS: Rahel and I decided that we’re going to the Blowout. We have to. For cereals.
