Mother Falcon has been on my list of bands to see here in Austin for a long time, but I have to be in the mood to see something really relaxing in order to see them. When I go see a show, I usually need that live show experience to amp me up and get my blood flowing. If you read any of my online publications, you know that I always go see the hard stuff live and the listen to the slow stuff I review at home. I may make an exception Thursday night as this will be the last chance I have to see Mother Falcon before I start work for the fall semester.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Mother Falcon, they are orchestral indie collective of young musicians. When I mean collective, I mean collective. Here is the list of members and which instruments they play:
Laura Andrade - Cello
Rita Andrade - Viola
Italo Benavides - Cello
Diana Burgess - Cello
Kira Bordelon - Violin
Clara Brill - Violin
Nick Calvin - Cello
Maurice Chammah - Violin
Yun Du - Violin
Nick Gregg - Vocals, Cello, Mandolin, Guitar
Austin Harris - Violin
Tamir Kalifa - Vocals, Accordion
Matt Krolick - Trumpet
Gilman Lykken - Bassoon
Josh Newburger - Violin
Claire Puckett - Vocals, Guitar, Piano
Matt Puckett - Vocals, Saxophone, Glockenspiel
Luke Stence - Bass
Isaac Winburne - Saxophone, Percussion, Piano
I often describe them to folks as sort of a young Balmorhea. These kids are amazing musicians and The Parish really is the ideal venue for them. The Parish has the sound, lighting and aesthetics suited for a small orchestra. Catching them Thursday night would also be good because they may be performing new songs off their new album they are currently recording. I'm looking forward to hearing it whenever it does come out. This Thursday's show is also the last show with their original line up. To get a better idea of what Mother Falcon looks and sounds like, watch this live video clip of them performing at Mohawk.
Doors are at 7:00pm. Advance tickets for this show are not available. Admission is $8 at the door. All ages are welcome. Also on the bill with Mother Falcon are Battle Bend and Little Lo. For complete details, visit The Parish online here.
The Denton, Texas based pop-punkers, Bowling For Soup, will be playing at The Parish this Saturday in Austin with The Dollyrots. We are giving away tickets on Red River Noise. Visit this link to find out how you can win a pair: http://tinyurl.com/29bpz98.
Just because "Latin Music Month" is over, that doesn't mean the party stops. It begins again this weekend with Este Vato's CD release show at Mi Casa Cantina on 6th street. It is a very well put together showcase that includes some of San Antonio's best acts, Mexican Step Grandfather and Pinata Protest. It is sure to be packed inside the Mexican Cantina style bar tomorrow night. Also, Este Vato's debut CD is pretty damn good. My only qualm was that it was only seven songs. Make sure to stop by and pick it up. The show is free unless you're 18-20, then it's only five dollars. Check out this clip of Este Vato last year at Red 7 we captured for Austin Vida. Be ready to get your cumbia on!
Be sure and check out my review of Este Vato's debut CD here on Austin Vida:
Before this Tuesday's Cinco de Mayo partying begins, there's a pretty damn good show happening at Momo's on Tuesday you need to catch. Two of Austin's best young bands, La Guerrilla and Este Vato, will be performing for a special edition of their regular World Music Nights. Both bands released their debut CDs this year and are great party bands.
I thought this was interesting. Austin has a new hip hop night and new venue getting in the mix. This new hip hop residency of sorts is called "Classic Wednesdays". The goal is to build the independent hip hop scene in Austin while combining it with classic '90s style hip artists like A Tribe Called Quest and Nas. Some new independent hip hop of the same back packer type flavor will be mixed in as well according to the promoters. It should be interesting for those who love hip hop in Austin. The rest of the details are on the poster you see above.
So this past weekend was all about getting down with Portugal The Man at The Parish. I knew they were going to be awesome because well, they are Portugal The Man. The biggest surprise of the night for my friends and I was the opening band, The Dig. I was caught by complete surprise. These dudes are ssssooooooo good live. Their album Electric Toys is definitely worth picking up. Here they are on stage joined by their tour mates, Port O'Brien. I'm not done talking about The Dig. I love this band, but I'll leave it at this short quick post for now.
The Double Stereo Day party line up and details were announced this week and I couldn't be happier about what my Double Stereo compadres over there were able to pull off. This is going to be one sick party!
Win these on Tuesday, March 2nd at Mi Casa Tamales & Cantina!
We just announced on Austin Vida that we are giving away two free tickets to see Los Amigos Invisibles when they come to Antone's on April 2nd. What makes this show even better is that Ocote Soul Sounds will be opening up for them. If you haven't seen or herd either, you are in for a treat. These two bands are some of the best the Latin Music world has to offer.
As I prepare and wait for next week's Austin Vida Indie Showcase, I was looking through my old mini-cam files and found this clip of showcase artist, In Situ Sound, that I took during Free Week. I am really feeling this band right now and that is exactly why we (Austin Vida crew) chose to spotlight them. For more info on the showcase with Hydra Melody, check out our Facebook page here: Austin Vida Indie Showcase on Facebook.
We're doing it again Austin! My Austin Vida crew and I are teaming up with our friends at Bemba Entertainment to host another Nacional Records Listening Party at Mi Casa Cantina on 6th street. On March 2nd, we'll be celebrating the release of not on, but two cool new albums from the world's hottest Latin Alternative record label. Just like before, we'll be giving away cool prizes while eating tamales. You how we do....
Also our boy DJ Chorizo Funk will be spinning the new records for us and doing his own thing before and after. Here is some information about the new albums we'll be celebrating. I hope you can join us. We'll post pictures and such on our Austin Vida blog.
Fresh off a Latin GRAMMY nomination for “Best New Artist,” ChocQuibTown present their U.S. debut album. The group is an Afro-Colombian hip hop act, which formed in the Chocó region of Colombia’s Pacific coast. The group fuses hip hop, electronic and funk with traditional Afro-Colombian rhythms. 2009 was a banner year for ChocQuibTown, beginning with the their U.S. debut concert at SXSW in Austin. In addition to the Latin GRAMMY nomination, they showcased at WOMEX and toured from London to Paris and all the way out to India and Las Vegas.
Various Artists – Vos Sabes…Como Te Esperaba! –A Tribute to Los Fabulosos Cadillacs – Release date: March 2
This special Fabulosos Cadillacs tribute release features new versions of classic Cadillacs tracks by a variety of leading Latin alternative acts, including Colombian music icons Aterciopelados, Tijuana’s electronica stars Nortec Collective, Puerto Rico’s reggae masters Cultura Profetica and Venezuelan disco funk rockers Los Amigos Invisibles. A Tribute to Los Fabulosos Cadillacs has already topped the album sales and radio charts in Argentina and Mexico.
There you have folks. I hope you'll mark it down on your calendars now and join us.
Suzanna Choffel in shiny pants (photo by Todd Wolfson)
In the midst of all the A-List Red River bands playing tonight, there is a special treat happening tonight at The Parish. Tonight one of my absolute favorite local artists, Suzanna Choffel, ventures out of Momo's for once to play a venue on 6th. Not only that, it's a Free Week show! For those of you who are too cool to venture off Red River, drop the ego and head to The Parish where it's warm.
I have had the opportunity and privilege of seeing Choffel many times as she is an Austin music staple. She is a great live performer and her style mixes jazz, folk, world music sounds and even R&B. I don't know what color her eyes are, but she is what they refer to as "blue eyed soul". Often compared to Nelly Furtado, Choffel has wide appeal and enough edge for Red River. So after the Longhorns stick it to those 'Bama girls, bundle up and head to The Parish. For those outside of Austin or those not yet familiar with Choffel because you live under a rock, check out the following clip from M.E. Television. Thank me later.
Also at The Parish tonight is Sounds Under Radio, which is a decent radio-rock band with hint of ambient indie. We're talking lots of crunchy guitar riffs, spacey noises, floating notes and heavy bass lines. You may want to hang out after Choffel is done, especially since it is free and warm.
With all your relatives in town, or if you're visiting from out of town, you are going to want to get out of the house. You'll either want to A) get the hell away from the them until it is time for them to leave back to the crap city that they came from or B) go out and show the family you love a good time in Austin, Texas. Even on holidays such as Thanksgiving, there are plenty of good live shows to choose from. How do you choose from so many? I'll make it easy on you.
My Thanksgiving pick is for one of my favorite local groups, T Bird and The Breaks. I first saw these guys at the 2008 Sound & The Jury contest at Antone's. In fact, they were who I would have chosen as the winner even though I wasn't there to see them that night. This ten piece soul group is a throwback to time when music was good. They are a throwback to the blue eyed soul your parents grew up listening to on vinyl. With a brass section, three female back up singers and one funky ass white boy singing lead, they can do no wrong. They kind of remind me of this group from one of my favorite '90s movies, The Commitments. Anyone else remember that one? With the those cool Irish dudes?
After stuffing your big ass with turkey all day and watching the Cowboys barely beat the Raiders, you will need to work off everything you ate. There is no better way to do that then heading down to Momo's Thursday night on 618 W. 6th St. You'll see it right by Katz's Deli for those of you who may need a land mark to reference. Also playing at Momo's Thursday will be Brett Randell at 8:00pm and Blues Mafia at 10:00pm. T Bird and The Breaks go on at midnight. By then you should be tipsy or stupid drunk, so T Bird will sound even better than they all ready do. I'm telling you, they are a great party band even your momma will like. Check out their latest single here and listen for yourself:
For more on T Bird and The Breaks, visit the following links:
Houston Hip Hop fans will have one of their favorite MCs take the stage tonight at Ace's Lounge. Making another Austin appearance will be Rap-A-Lot artist, Z-Ro. Having received lots airplay on local hip hop station, Hot. 93.3, Z-Ro is without a doubt a local favorite. It wasn't until last year that I saw the extent of his popularity.
Last year I was the Austin Music Hall for a Hot 93.3 show that featured Southern Rap Legend Bun B, headliner David Banner and Z-Ro. I saw people rapping along the words to all his songs, but I expected that because of the radio popularity I mentioned a moment ago. People weren't going any crazier for Z-Ro than they were for Bun B or the previous local performers. I took a couple of pictures and recorded some low quality video from my point and shoot camera just for fun. I posted them to YouTube shortly after the show. I did so for the David Banner videos and for the Bun B videos. Second only to some Cool Kids videos from Stubb's, my Z-Ro videos have the most views on my YouTube page.
Now I recorded some pretty big names last year with my point and shoot the same way, but Z-Ro was the one who took off? I was surprised by that. My videos weren't even good quality. That said something right there. He may be the underground scene's crown holder. For a while there on Myspace, I was seeing a lot of profile songs that were from Z-Ro. If nothing else, he was kicking ass on Myspace.
Since then I have been intrigued by this dude Z-Ro. I downloaded his recent album at the time, Crack. I combed my iTunes for any tracks with Z-Ro and a bunch of Houston artists came up that featured Z-Ro. These were all big names like Paul Wall, Bun B and Lil' Flip to name a few. He has a real distinguishable voice and flow. You can tell he's a big dude and definitely Texan with that heavy accent that even comes through when rapping. If he does write his own rhymes, and I admit I don't know, then he has some talent there for sure.
Earlier this year I went to hit up Piranha Records in Round Rock, a great local source for anything Houston Hip Hop or Southern Underground, and picked up some Mix Tapes (actually CDs) that featured Z-Ro. His stuff on those Mix Tapes were better than some of his radio hits, although too short in length to be songs most of the time. I prefer full length songs, but that's just me. If you are new to Z-Ro, then start with his album I'm Still Livin'. Surf the net a bit and you'll see there's an interesting story about that album. I'll post some links as always at the end of the post that can give you more info.
Again, I'm semi-new to Z-Ro and don't listen to too much new hip hop these days. I'm more of what you call a "back packer" but there's something about the rawness and grime of Houston stuff that just does it for me. Anyway, I just wanted to post a little something about my Z-Ro experience and let you know he'll be at Ace's Lounge tonight. Hopefully, he will perform for you all my favorite Z-Ro track, "Top Notch". Check out the video and give it a listen here:
Ace's Lounge is located on 222 E. 6th Street. You'll see it there on the corner of 6th and San Jacinto. If you see Brazos St or The Driskell Hotel, you've gone too far. The show is at 8:00 and is hosted by Smackola from The Dirty Wormz. See the flyer for details or visit Ace's Lounge online at www.acesaustin.com.
After a wild Saturday night and a Longhorns victory, Sundays are a great day to just chill (recover). The NFL season hasn't started yet so after Church or sleeping in, your Sunday should be relatively free. You could stay home and do laundry, or you could experience life in Austin, Texas the way you should...with live music. My show pick for Sunday is a special benefit concert featuring many talented singer-songwriters, including the talented Gina Chavez at El Sol y La Luna.
Gina Chavez (photo by Richard Bryant Photography)
Gina Chavez is a relatively well known folk rock artist whose influences include Ani Defranco, Patti Griffen and Julieta Venegas. In town she's performed everywhere from Jovita's on South First to the Nutty Brown Cafe. Normally she'd be playing shows to support her album, Hanging Spoons. Tomorrow is a little different.
Sunday night's benefit show is an effort to support a humanitarian like trip to El Salvador. The text from the Do512 post says it best I think:
"You might think it's CRAZY! To Pack up and leave a budding career in Central Texas for cold showers & chicken buses in Central America. To take your best friend & live out of a suitcase in El Salvador, where poverty and volcanoes are too big to miss. And for what? To teach kids and live with nuns for a year? Maybe you're right. It does sound crazy. THEN AGAIN, maybe you kinda wish you could COME WITH US..."
While my focus may be on Gina Chavez, there are many great performers on the bill with her. Latin At Heart and Haydn Vitera are certainly worth mentioning as they are all very talented musicians. It is like my mom used to say, "There's music and then there's music". Sunday night it is about the cause and the music.
For more on Gina Chavez, click on the following links:
Last Friday night I headed downtown to The Parrish on 6th to check out a band I first heard about at SXSW. During SXSW I worked a Batanga.com radio showcase over at Habana. Batanga featured a lot of good artists that day, but one band that caught my eye was local Latin Alternative act “Kanko”.
To be honest, I was running around doing miscellaneous errands and production assistant type stuff while Kanko was on. What I did hear from them that day sounded good to me, so I figured since they are Austin based I’d get a chance to seem them later on.
Later on brings us to the end of May. I saw Kanko on the bill for Pachanga Fest. I missed Pachanga, therefore missing Kanko again along with the other bands that played. I’m not too disappointed because I knew I would catch them again some day. That some day finally came Friday night at The Parrish.
Kanko started their set around 11 pm, a good time slot for them. They immediately got started with some music that had all the hot white girls dancing. Enough said there right? Kanko’s music is a good blend of rock and Mexican cumbia....with hints of punk. I call their music “cumbia rock”.
The only other band in town I’ve seen in my made up “cumbia rock” genre is Maneja Beto. Maneja is more of the indie rock persuasion where Kanko’s music is harder and faster cumbia rock. Despite the harder and faster sound, it is still very danceable.
Lead singer Brian Ramos is a very active musician on the scene. I’ve noticed that along with being the lead singer of Kanko, he also plays in another Latin Alternative band called El Sancho. El Sancho played in a Myspace Latino showcase recently there at the Parrish. Ramos also got together with Charanga Cakewalk to create a theme song for Rock y Roll Radio, an internet radio show hosted by Paul Saucido.
With all this talent, drive, hard work and contacts I think Kanko will be around for a while. I am not sure to what level exactly, as they are a semi-new band that only came together within the last couple of years or so. However, with Maneja Beto on hiatus for a while, Kanko will be a good cumbia rock fix in the meantime.
Kanko tracks to listen to: Agua Ardiente, Culero, La Maquina
It must be unofficially "Real Hip Hop Week" here in Austin this week as this is the third hip hop show I caught in three days. What's nice about everything is that it hasn't been the over saturated radio stuff you hear on most hip hop stations these days. This week and this show was for the backpackers, old school lovers and edu-tainment genre lovers. The RZA is the super producer and MC for the greatest hip hop super group ever assembled, The Wu Tang Clan. He graced Austin with his presence Wednesday night at Emo's for his "RZA as Bobby Digital" tour. Bobby Digital, for those that don't know, is his alter ego.
RZA brought with him a crew of Wu Affiliates including the Black Knights, Solomon Childs and Stone Mecca. Truthfully, I had not heard of either of those artists but I knew I could expect decent music at the very least because RZA isn't going to let just anyone on his tour. He wouldn't damage his good name, reputation or credibility by bringing some whack rappers or singers. I mean this is the genius backbone of The Wu Tang Clan.
When I got to Emo's there was already a good amount of people in line and inside before me, but I still was able to get up front by the stage. As we all waited for the performers to get started, we listened to the sounds of Austin's own DJ Notion. He was alright, not terrible or anything. He had the crowd bobbing their heads, warming them up and doing his job. Nothing he played sucked and no one booed him, so he definitely knew the crowd he was catering to. Had he spun some D4L or Soulja Boy, he would have been booed at and harassed by this crowd. The RZA fans in attendance mostly consisted of hip hop purists that would eat you alive should you come with some "BS". After his set he gave away some cool posters he made for the RZA show. I didn't go get one in fear of losing my spot up front. Looking back, I wish I would have. After DJ Notion was done with his set, another DJ for the rest of the show set up along with a crew setting up band equipment for Stone Mecca later. After another good DJ set, Staten Island Wu Affiliate Solomon Childs came on stage, claiming to be fresh of the airplane. He didn't have much to work off of in terms of music he would have normally performed to. Childs had the DJ go off previous recordings he did and did some freestyles. I posted one of them on you tube for you to check out. I liked him personally. His was flow was grimey and raw, true to the Wu Tang brand and style. It was a real short set but enough to spark my curiousity as to who how was and what music he's done. Hopefully if you catch this tour in another city, you will get to check him out. I hope that he gets to do a longer set and most importantly, the set he wanted to do last night.
Following Solomon Childs was a West Coast Wu Affiliate called "Black Knights", or RZA's West Coast Killa Bees. Despite the Compton ski hat and Raiders jersey, you could definitely tell from their sound they were West Coast. I really can't explain that to those who aren't hip hop afficionados, but they just had that flow and swagger that screams "West West". Now its been too long since I saw any West Coast rappers (not including the Dilated Peoples show Monday night) I think the last one was maybe Snoop at the old Austin Music Hall. Now the Black Knights had beats that were darker than the West Coast G-funk style beats typically associated with West Coast sound. Again, staying true to the Wu sound and brand. They had good energy despite the humidity and heat and the crowd seemed to be feeling them. The most notable moment for me during the Black Knight's set was when one of them started rhyming acapella. Their set didn't seem that long either, but that was fine as the crowd was hot and were still a band away from the headliner.
Stone Mecca, the co-headliner for The RZA, was not a hip hop act. They were a soul band or R&B collective if you will. Being unfamiliar with Stone Mecca and a fan of this sort of music, I was looking forward to this set. Plus I was hoping that their music was chill enough to calm the crowd a little because it was starting to feel like a rock concert with all the pushing and shoving. After over 10 years of mosh pits and craziness, I was starting to feel my age in the front row. I'm not 18 anymore, that's for sure.
I also started to wonder why or how it was a soul act was going on right before RZA. It didn't make sense to me as Stone Mecca wouldn't have been my first choice to go on right before RZA. They were really good though. They had a good band that included key boards players, a bassist, a guitar player, drummer, bongos...the works. They also had three lovely ladies singing what I thought would be back up, but they all sing individually on certain tracks. The lead singer, Jevon McGlory, fronted most of the songs. I would describe Stone Mecca to people as a mix of Toni Tony Tone, Maxwell, and Klymaxx. What won me over was a song called "A Walk". It was song featured in RZA's cartoon, "Afro Samurai". They were the best surprise of the night for me.
Speaking of surprises, RZA just came out of no where when he took the stage. Stone Mecca didn't break down their instruments, which is why I was caught off guard. As it turns out, Stone Mecca was the house band for RZA. Logistically it all made sense to me at that point. All RZA had to do once Stone Mecca's set was done was to just come out and start rockin' the crowd. That RZA is so smart I tell you...must be all that Wuchess.
Once RZA got started, it was like rock concert crazy. He started with his own music, mostly off his solo records and new forthcoming album "Digi Snacks". The song I remember him performing off that album was "You Can't Stop Me Now". He had the crowd responding and singing along with him the whole time, even the dudes stage diving and making a mosh pit. You can tell he was really feeling the love from Austin as all night the crowd were throwing up the signature Wu Tang W's and chanting "WU TANG" for him. He even said himself that he loved their energy despite how crazy hot it was.
Things really started to get crazy and people excited when he took off his top shirt to expose his Wu undershirt. At that point he got into some older Wu Tang classics which the crowd loved, getting the loudest it had been all night. The last time I saw anything Wu related was in 1997 during the MTV Sports and Music Fest at Zilker Park. That was the largest crowd of that three day festival, partly because Method Man headlined during the height of the Wu Tang's popularity....or so I thought. After last night, it was clear we are still at the height of the Wu Tang Clan's popularity and it will never die. I swear at one point I saw in RZA's eyes at one point where he was going to get emotional. I can't say I blame him. It was a beautiful thing. Austin had nothing but love for him and his whole crew. Someone even brought their Wu Tang Manual with them. I left mine at home.
Hip Hop was once again alive and well in Austin, real hip hop that is. Hopefully these past three days will be a wake up call for more hip hop acts to come by Austin. Mos Def anyone?
I did it again ladies and gentleman. I won some tickets off M.E. Television's website. This time, it was two tickets to check out the Dilated Peoples tour, creatively titled "Fresh Rhymes And Videotape". All I knew about who was on the bill with them was hip hop super producer and MC, The Alchemist. Now this was not my first Dilated Peoples show(won't be my last either). I saw them at Stubbs indoor a couple years ago when they played with Little Brother. It was a good show then, but judging from the tour bus you see pictured here, it seemed that this tour was a little bigger. The venue was bigger this time around as well as the show was at Emo's (outside). I got there super early to make sure everything was cool and I was on the guest list. I had no trouble as M.E. took care of me.
Once inside it was empty and the only people there associated with the tour were the merch guys. To tell you how hot it was, I wasn't drinking anything but bottled water instead of my usual Lone Star. I picked up some free promo stickers at the merch table as I do enjoy some good schwag (not a weed reference by the way). Shortly there after, I heard someone take the mic and start calling people to the stage. "Cool" I thought as I was already tired of waiting. It had to be the heat as I am a pretty patient and chill dude.
The opening act was a rapper by the name of 88-Keys. I had never heard of him ppreviously. For all I knew he was local. Normally I would would have done my homework but I did not find out I was going to be at this concert until the day of. So, I was looking forward to being surprised. Truthfully, I wasn't really expecting much from an opening act. This dude surprised me though.I was just kind of listening at first, bobbing my head as the beats were good. He was backed by a beautiful lady DJ named Syncity who was part of his live act also. He told the story of his friend "Adam". Adam's story was worked into his whole set as he creatively changed costumes with almost each new song. Him and DJ Syncity were both fun, funny, energetic and cool. I look forward to hearing more from him and his new album he said was coming out. There is a song on there with Kanye West. Check out this clip from my you tube page. It's 88-Keys as Kanye:
L.A. rapper Aceyalone (pronounced like A-C-Alone) took the stage shortly after 88-Keys was done. Aceyalone performed with his tour DJ, Hines Buchanan. Now I had heard of Aceyalone before but never got the opportunity to see him live. What I had heard from various magazines, blogs and/or internet sites was that he somehow never got the recognition he deserved despite getting some good reviews. As he got started the crowd was a little bigger and I was already in a good mood from 88-Key's set. His rhymes were good and beats were dope, but the set was just alright for me. I can't put my finger on it. Now understand that "alright" doesn't mean awful, because he was far from awful. I was telling friend about the show and he emailed me an mp3 file of Aceyalone's CD called "A Book of Human Language". I was honestly blown away by how good that was. Maybe it was the Texas heat affecting him. No Pacific Ocean sea breeze here in Texas to cool you off. If he comes back around, I will definitely check him out again.
Following Aceyalone, I (and the whole front row) was expecting The Alchemist to come out next. However there were rumors going around the crowd somehow that he was not there. It seemed that way as DJ Babu, tour DJ for Dilated Peoples was setting up. People were starting to wonder. Then immediately after Evidence and Rakaa came out we all forgot or stopped caring for the moment. In typical Dilated People fashion, they came out with lots of energy and excitement.
I tell you what, Dilated Peoples never disappoint. I love it when bands or artists feel their own work and are passionate about it on stage versus treating it like just another paid performance. Emo's was packed at this point and everyone was bobbing their heads to DJ Babu's beats. Here is the interesting thing to about Monday night. According to Evidence, the technical difficulties that they were having were due to a hard drive crashing on what I guess was DJ Babu's laptop. In true DJ form, Babu did the whole set live versus running the show from a file off a hard drive. That's how it was done before laptops, so good thing they have a real DJ in Babu on boardrunning things. That wasn't the surprise of the night though.
Remember when I mentioned that The Alchemist was rumored to not be performing as scheduled after all? Well Evidence addressed that with the crowd and gave him a call from his cell live on stage. Just when we all thought he was a no show, out he comes! The Alchemist did indeed join Dilated Peoples on stage and gave the crowd what they came for...to come hear "Hold You Down" live. Sure there was no Nina Sky, but is was the highlight of The Alchemist's performance for me.
Speaking of surprises on stage, Evidence pulled a guy from the crowd on stage. He did so because he had a Dilated Peoples tattoo on his arm. That devoted fan was Bill Alverson. You can see the tattoo here in the picture with him and Evidence. This just goes to show how cool and down to earth the Dilated Peoples are. At the last Dilated Peoples show I attended at Stubbs, they stayed after to sign autographs and take pictures. They always do that. Other than their amazing sound, this is why they have such loyal die hard fans. Not all will end up with tattoos like Bill's but will always come to their show when in their city. They ended their set with their biggest hits "I Can't Live My Life" and "First Things First". Both Hip Hop classics if you ask me. Hopefully they will be back in Austin again soon as I imagine they will. They seem to do well here and people love them.
My only complaint and/or request is for them to bring some vinyl to sell with their merch. I would have bought a record and had them sign it. Remember that for me please next time if you read this. It would mean a lot to me and many other fans. Finally, if you missed the show you can check out the you tube clips I took from my camera.
Ian is a graduate of Round Rock High School and attended St Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. In 2008 he joined the team at Double Stereo (formerly CD Fuse) as their Blog editor where he reviewed concerts, albums, and did interviews for the popular music site.In January 2009, he became the Editor in Chief for Austin Vida. In 2010, with the help of some of his most talented friends, he launched Red River Noise. "Ian's Music Blog" is also one of the few blogs selected to be a Do512 All-Star.
On any given night of the week he can be found in downtown Austin on 6th Street and the Red River live music district.
