Another Perspective

Atmosphere, Micranots, Brother Ali, and OddJobs
Commodore Ballroom
Sunday September 14, 2003

I had been wanting to go to this show for some time now, but figured I wouldn't be able to go, since being a poor student now, I wouldn't be able to afford it. So when the chance arose for me to get free tickets (through Dave at work) I jumped on it. I invited Corinne along, as i had not spent nearly enough time with her over the last week. I knew she wasn't a fan of hiphop, but I figured that if she were to enjoy any show it would be Atmosphere. She has already given her impression, coming from one who isn't a hiphop fan (an outsider if yo will) and I will now present mine.

Oddjobs:

Composed of three MCs, a DJ, and a dorky lookin' kid playing the sampler, these guys got the party started pretty well. They really brought an old school flavour with them (being a group helps that kind of vibe) and they really seemed like they were having a great time. Their vocal skills, while not amazing, they seemed moderately talented, but not really inspired. They seemed to have a genuine love for the audience, and for performing. The DJ's were alright, but not amazing, usually better with the slower, more melancholic material. The faster stuff came off a l little goofy. They touched on personal subjects, which is something I tend to like in hiphop, but did so in a silly sounding way. ("We don't need no motherfucking, broke-ass fathers!!!!) They had some stage presence, but very little electricity.

Brother Ali

Brother Ali came out on stage with little fanfare. He grabbed the mic, and proceeded to work the crowd into a frenzy. The guy has major stage presence, pretty good punchlines for a battle rapper, and some deeply personal stuff too. (There was a song about him being really ugly, but not really caring what others think, which is all the more fascinating as he is an albino.) He freestyled a little, played a bunch of good songs, and had a really good connection with his DJ. They really new eachother's styles. Awesome opening act, I will be ordering in his CD for the store as soon as I work again.

I Self Divine, of the Micronots

He came on, a little low energy, having just lost his DJ at the border. Mr Dibbs filled in admirably if not amazingly. His vocal skill were allright, not being terribly inspired. His energy level got better as the show progressed. He did a lot of bragging, which I think Corinne took a bit offense too, and his round of "Fuck the Police" was super-cheesy and not entirely appropriate to the crowd. I think Corinne is making too much out of the ""Ladies of the house" and "My brothers of the house"" bit, as that has been a hiphop trademark since the dawn of the style. Far from being exclusionary, I think it is actually inclusionary, making sure everyone gets acknowledged at the show, since men seem to dominate the stage front. I was unimpressed none-the-less, and got bored quickly as his vocal delivery was nigh-unintelligible.

Atmosphere.

Atmosphere came across as a veteren of the stage. The stage was his, and he moved along it, comunicating effortlessly with the audience. He mugged for the audience, used a lot onstage banter (some of which contrived segueways into songs) and got the crowd going nicely. Mr Dibbs broke did a nice DJ set based around "Killing in the Name" by RATM which degenerated into silliness in the end. (I noticed that he plays a very eclectic set of tracks, ranging from the White Stripes to Poison the Well.) He played most of the songs I wanted to hear (Bass and the Movement, and a bunch of new stuff) and even did a pretty clever freestyle session during the second encore. I had a lot of fun, but wasn't terribly moved. He had some good stuff to say, but nothing that blew my mind, or really made me think he was 100% genuine. But all in all, a pretty good show.