Zune Social: 
About a month ago, I let you know about an underground concert tour taking place in December.
Remember? Of course you do.
Now here is what I experienced at the Los Angeles, CA show:
First off, since Amy, my sister, isn't 21+ just yet, we kind of had to go to the L.A. show because the one in San Diego was 21+. Now you know. Well.. That and Amy *loves* L.A.
El Rey Theatre is really nice. I actually felt a little under-dressed for the event. That is, until I saw some chick in heels and felt better about my K-Swiss. Couple hours of standing around in high heels, when I have the chance to wear comfy shoes? Hell no. Sneakers, please! If you ever get a chance to go there for a show, it won't disappoint. The staff is nice too.
They did try to weed out everyone that was smoking weed. Security went into the crowd a couple times with their little flashlights and everything. They tried. Ha ha.
First up was Los Rakas. They're the duo hailing from Panama, now based out of Oakland, CA rappers. Both DunDun (doon-doon) and Rico/Rich (the one with the Afro) have great stage presence and energy. Even though not everyone in the audience knew Spanish, they interacted with Los Rakas:
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| Raka Rico |
Rico: "When I say Los you say Rakas! LOS!"
Audience: "RAKAS!!"
And so on and so forth. Yes, this is Los Rakas' first tour. Their concert cherry was popped at this show. I think they preformed very well. Sure as hell left me wanting more.
I heard a guy behind me say that he didn't know that anyone could "spit like that in Spanish." That goes to show you two things: 1.) The guy that made the statement needs to get out more and 2.) Los Rakas do have mad skills. Also, if you didn't know, "rakas" is Panamanian slang for "ghetto folk". So the translated name of Los Rakas is "The Ghetto Folk", and they're very proud of their roots.
I heard a guy behind me say that he didn't know that anyone could "spit like that in Spanish." That goes to show you two things: 1.) The guy that made the statement needs to get out more and 2.) Los Rakas do have mad skills. Also, if you didn't know, "rakas" is Panamanian slang for "ghetto folk". So the translated name of Los Rakas is "The Ghetto Folk", and they're very proud of their roots.
From here on out, DJ Fresh took over the one's and two's. I like DJFreshDJFreshDJFresh. He's funny. And obviously skilled at his craft, both spinnin' and spittin'.
Next in the concert lineup was Eligh. If you have yet to hear this little White-lookin' man flow.. Good god are you missing out. Eligh is insanely talented. I really can't remember what songs were done once some of the Living Legends' crew showed up; Luckyiam.PSC and two other guys whose names I don't know, sorry =[ . The performances are epic. Crowd went crazy! Once Eligh finished his time on the stage, Amy was a little sad that he didn't do "Say G&E", seeing as to how The Grouch is a headliner. But I knew better. I did the big sister thing and told Amy to be patient.
♪ The truth is here, The Truth is here ♫
When it was Brother Ali's turn on the stage? Oh my gawd. I was totally stoked. Dude, the man is amazing! I haven't been listening to Mr. Brother Ali for too long, but damn if I'm not a fan of his work. Since Michael "Eyedea" Larsen passed 16 Oct 2010, Brother Ali paid tribute to his friend by singing "Smile". Yes, a rapper sang. And he did a great job. Brother Ali also has a great sense of humor. He said that of course he's happy to do a Christmas tour. Who cares if he's Muslim? And no, I do not refer to Brother Ali as "that one Albino rapper". LOL!
I'm really grateful to Pimpcito7 for sending me "Philistine David" on Zune.net way back when. Thank you, man.
Then. The headliner. The Grouch comes up on stage for his set. At this point, it's been maybe hour-and-a-half to two hours of standing, singing along, and screaming; show got started around 9pm. I'm thinking, "Ah, show'll be over soon." HA! Yeah, right. The grouch did a few solo songs, paid his respects to Eyedea, and then introduced some friends. Seems like it's the entire Living Legends crew this time; Eligh, Sunspot Jonz, Scarub, all of them. After all that amazingness, Eligh stayed and both Eligh and The Grouch did "Say G&E". "G, G, G, G and E, E, E, E". Then, some guy named Yukmouth did some song called "I Got 5 On It". Not very well known. Meh. KIDDING! Dude, in my awe-struck stupor, I messed up with my camera and only got around 40 seconds of video. Crowds energy was electrifying.
I like how The Grouch went through three wardrobe changes.. LOL!
The curtains closed and that was the end of that. Show ended at around 1am. For the first time, my voice it completely shot. Like gone, yo. I feel like I'm yelling just so as to be able to whisper. Amy says I sound like a little girl. SO worth it.
Right before the show ended, some random guy starts talking to Amy. Once the lights come back on, Amy's ignoring the guy and we start to walk away. The guy has the nerve to grab my arm. Luckily, he was totally wasted. I shake him off and we head out 'cause Amy says she needs to use the restroom. So I'm doing the responsible big sister thing by looking for a restroom Amy can use. Suddenly, she freaks out. Whenever Amy freaks out, the effect that it usually has on those around her is terror. Seriously, she freaks out like its the end of the world or like as if she's just witnessed something indescribable. Fortunately, it's the latter, this time. Girl sees Brother Ali signing autographs and taking pictures with fans by the bar. The crowd isn't that big and Amy decides that she doesn't need to the restroom just yet. So we huddle in with the people and patiently wait for our turn for pictures. Amy takes pictures of like three people (with their cameras) and we're still waiting. Then, Brother Ali holds his hand out towards Amy and says something along the lines of, "You, come here." Neither of us can remember when he said, we were/are still in shock.
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| Me and Brother Ali |
So Amy puts her little hand in his, Brother Ali pulls her towards him, and I snap the picture. Amy would like me to let you that, "hes a great hugger! say he gives warm hugs." So there you have it, Mr. Brother Ali gives great hugs. Now before anyone else steps in to get their picture with Brother Ali, I hurry in tell him that he's amazing, he thanks me, and Amy snaps the picture of us. And like everyone else before us, Brother Ali hands me a Halls cough drop. I thank him, he thanks me again, and Amy and I rush to the restroom I've located.
Totally epic, man. Epic.
Amy later tells me that The Grouch was also doing the same thing with his fans. I'm a little upset that I didn't see him on the floor. But now I have another reason to go to next year's show.. As if I needed one.
Amy and I got a cab back to the hotel 'cause our ride fell asleep. We make a munchies run to 7-Eleven and are in the hotel room by like 1:30am. I don't take the bright orange 21+ bracelet off for another day.
My sister and I were in the presence of so much awesomeness that night. I'm pretty sure that my awesome meter will be maxed out for a while longer. I mean, looking back at the pictures we took, man, I'm still all star struck. This damn smile won't leave my face!
Oh-em-gee Reader (that's you), all these artists are sooo talented, that they sound the same live as they do on their CD's. Like seriously. They're all THAT good.
Also, this was both mine and Amy's first time seeing anyone of these talented individuals live. I knew the music of Los Rakas and Brother Ali well before the 1 December show. I studied up on Eligh and The Grouch as the concert date neared. I am definitely a fan of all who preformed, though. The six hour, round trip bus ride was more than worth it.
As of the time I got around to controlling my Dyslexia induced ADD and posted this, all of the shows have been sold out. So if you live near one of the venues, are into the truth, and would like to go, get on it! Tickets are around $20!!
Remaining concert dates (as of time of post):
- 10 Dec: Wild Buffalo (21+) in Bellingham, WA
- 11 Dec: Wonder Ballroom in Portland, OR
- 12 Dec: Domino Room in Bend, OR
- 14 Dec: Empire in Sacramento, CA
- 15 Dec: The Independent (21+) in San Francisco, CA
- 16 Dec: New Parish (18+) in Oakland, CA
- 17 Dec: Avalon in Santa Clara, CA
- 18 Dec: Cellar Door in Visalia, CA
- 19 Dec: Downtown Brew in San Luis Obispo, CA
Los Links:
- The El Rey Theatre
- Los Rakas' official website
- Thank Ghetto BassQuake for these free songs. Only track six is Los Rakas', though. The rest are good too! There were another five free Los Rakas track available through the official website, but they aren't free anymore.
- The official DJ Fresh Twitter page (can't find an actual website)
- Some free tracks featuring DJ Fresh and the Whole Shabang courtesy of Thizzler on the Roof. Note: When you're extracting the files, it'll ask you for a password. You'll have to pass on the tracks requiring this. Don't trip, though. You'll end up with nine free tracks.
- Eligh's official page
- Check out Brother Ali's official spot within the interwebs
- The Grouch's official page
- Download this year's official #HTGSC theme song gratis, here
- The official Living Legends site
- Get to know the RhymeSayers at their official web page
- For photos Amy and I took from the show, click on over
I'll re-post and let ya'll know when the eleven videos are up.
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