[Colorado] best rap show I saw – a tall lanky black guy with a bowtie tattooed around his neck – incredible dynamism and demand of the crowd, coming right to the end of the stage with a habit of bending from the waist to sing in two halves – he charmed me by switching off the intensity to smile uncertainly and kind of giggle or to lean down and ask the white punk in the front if the sound was okay – brought two pals up to do a hardcore number and then went solo to do a booty-shaking dance rap number “for the ladies” – it was clear he was odd in a very intelligent way – lots of diversity, lots of intensity, and lots of quality

[San Francisco, CA] recommended by my sister\”s VegasFashionisto who knows these things – I thought it was going to be mellow alt-rap, which I like ok, but it was much harder, which I like even better – three guys waving their arms up and down, taking turns as front man, and backed by a DJ who played dark hard beats – they said they had literally just driven in, only having had time to brush their teeth before arriving – they also said two members hadn\”t made it because one was locked up and one was in Fresno – being in Fresno seemed a really odd place to be… until I found out that\”s where they\”re originally from

[Kansas City] I\”m guessing this wasn\”t a SXSW-ordained show but they were good in their wacky way – one had a helmet on with blinking lights strung around it and another word a huge furry animal mask the entire show – bizarreo alt-rap – slow understated flow that sounds soothing and cool at the same time – I\”m guessing the guy in the audience (1 of about 10) pressed against the stage singing along was a manager/friend

seemed to focus more on Wu-Tang stuff than his solo material – his voice is appealing, more boyish and winsome than other members – my memory of his set is unfortunately overshadowed by the silly 20-somethings next to us who were dying to start a fight with any willing fellow audience member – I pulled out my old teacher face and down-eyebrowed them – Wu-Tang’s still the only cult I’d willingly join

with the DJ still in place, Kool Keith suddenly materialized with an average-joe-rapper sidekick in tow (fast, upbeat, clean-cut) – sidekick seemed to be there to keep the show moving, keep Kool Keith in touch with the crowd, and monitor Kool Keith in general – perhaps I was biased by reports that Kool Keith has schizophrenia but he definitely didn’t dissuade me of his insanity – his head and most of his face was shrouded in a silver be-glittered wrap and he had on a plush velour-like jacket – the show wasn’t what I expected – I was only familiar with the Black Elvis incarnation of Kool Keith and it was too spacey and freaky for me – the nerdy rapper notion I had of him was entirely off – he’s from the Bronx and the huge range of his sound always had a menacing undertone – the beats ranged from gangsta rap to party/dance rap to intelligent hip-hop to quirky nerd rap to nasty freak rap – his voice was good, smooth and calm and low – the lyrics were complicated but then full of silly rhymes – roller-derby-looking girl had warned me that Kool Keith typically plays 30 seconds of each song before switching which she found upsetting but was all right by me – seemed like the only songs they finished were the explicitly sexual ones – they did invite girls up from the crowd and one drunk one is embarrassed today at the spectacle she made of herself – the sidekick did the “hoo hoo” that the Wu-Tang does and I want to know what it means – the sidekick handled most of the crowd pumping and interaction but Kool Keith went off on a monologue at one point that was so nonsensical it was hilarious (Who likes sandwiches? Who likes Super 8s? Who likes the roach that crawls across your hotel window?…) – in then end, the music was really good and the two rappers were endearing – Kool Keith seemed an insane genius, still a child though, and his sidekick is the supportive vehicle through which he can communicate with the world

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

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 scen 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.

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

he was fine, sounds similar to The RZA, got angry with the DJ periodically

I knew of one song he did with Beck (‘Pullin’ Up Roots’), we decided to go because description of him was wicked and evil, he was a good DJ “Metallica, new wave” and it turned out he was an even better rapper, gothic men with black fingernails should not rap, show was entertaining for its uniquity, ended up being disturbing because he was clearly mentally unstable (thus genius) or at least horribly miserable, and though he clearly hated us (the crowd) he seemed slavishly hungry for our worship or was trying really hard to promote his albums by throwing them into the crowd, and pouring beer from a pitcher into upturned mouths

Franti hails from Disposable Heroes and Beatnigs, lively, hip-hop to true rap, rock, smart (“socio-political”) but crowd-pleasing lyrics, very enjoyable