Wed 20 Aug – Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic, DJ Big Wiz
It’s rather amusing that anytime Ian Matthias Bavitz, aka Aesop Rock is on YouTube or on stage, he appears to have just rolled out of bed. This appearance makes sense of his lyrics like, ‘I show up late looking project grizzly,’ but it doesn’t give a good indication of what his performances will be like. Despite his sometimes inaccessibly Dadaistic lyrics and incomprehensibly fast flows Aesop Rock brought the crowd at DC’s 9:30 club to frenzied levels of energy last night (even more than earlier this year at Coachella).
With the energy Rock and his partners in crime, Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz emanated, the crowd was able to amp the performance of the Def Jux crew with shear excitement and well…wylin’ out. It’s this exchange of enthusiasm that separates the good hip-hop shows from the average and Aesop Rock and co. were definitely above par. That is not to say, however, the performance was without its flaws.
After a lot of touring it seems Aes loses the more gravely quality his voice takes in studio tracks and leans more toward sounding like B-Real from Cypress Hill. In the heat of the crowd’s overwhelming liveliness the MCs flows seemed a little hurried as well. Overall, though, the performance was quite fantastic.
Obviously Aesop and crew were concerned with stagecraft and the attention to projected visuals paid off well as a way to set the tone for the show. The projections drew from Aes’ lush and intriguing music videos and original artwork designed for the purposes of enhancing the live rhymes and turntablism.
Aside from that and more importantly, Aesop rock seems to be riding the peak of his career. None Shall Pass found generally warm critical reception with its uncharacteristically dancy tracks like “Coffee” and the title track (both of which he performed last night). This phase seems to be his greatest contribution to the Def Jux label and hip-hop as a whole,.
New verses and variations on the chorus of his tracks indicate that Aes is still versatile and innovative altogether, but especially with respect to his own artistry. When they finished their set, the crew left stage and the house lights came up; probably a genuine exit, but the crowd demanded more. When the trio returned to the stage, Aes said, ‘We already played ‘Daylight,’ so the joke’s on you.’ Regardless, they dropped, ‘No Regrets,’ which is sure to go down with some of Slick Rick’s and the Beastie Boys’ work as one of the finest hip-hop ballads on record.
Even though the studio version is not exactly a crowd-mover, they turned it into one via the variations they made that night on Lucy’s tale. So it was a risky decision, but worked surprisingly well. About the whole show, like Lucy and her life, Aesop Rock should feel no regrets.
It’s rather amusing that anytime Ian Matthias Bavitz, aka Aesop Rock is on YouTube or on stage, he appears to have just rolled out of bed. This appearance makes sense of his lyrics like, ‘I show up late looking project grizzly,’ but it doesn’t give a good indication of what his performances will be like. Despite his sometimes inaccessibly Dadaistic lyrics and incomprehensibly fast flows Aesop Rock brought the crowd at DC’s 9:30 club to frenzied levels of energy last night (even more than earlier this year at Coachella).
With the energy Rock and his partners in crime, Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz emanated, the crowd was able to amp the performance of the Def Jux crew with shear excitement and well…wylin’ out. It’s this exchange of enthusiasm that separates the good hip-hop shows from the average and Aesop Rock and co. were definitely above par. That is not to say, however, the performance was without its flaws.
After a lot of touring it seems Aes loses the more gravely quality his voice takes in studio tracks and leans more toward sounding like B-Real from Cypress Hill. In the heat of the crowd’s overwhelming liveliness the MCs flows seemed a little hurried as well. Overall, though, the performance was quite fantastic.
Obviously Aesop and crew were concerned with stagecraft and the attention to projected visuals paid off well as a way to set the tone for the show. The projections drew from Aes’ lush and intriguing music videos and original artwork designed for the purposes of enhancing the live rhymes and turntablism.
Aside from that and more importantly, Aesop rock seems to be riding the peak of his career. None Shall Pass found generally warm critical reception with its uncharacteristically dancy tracks like “Coffee” and the title track (both of which he performed last night). This phase seems to be his greatest contribution to the Def Jux label and hip-hop as a whole,.
New verses and variations on the chorus of his tracks indicate that Aes is still versatile and innovative altogether, but especially with respect to his own artistry. When they finished their set, the crew left stage and the house lights came up; probably a genuine exit, but the crowd demanded more. When the trio returned to the stage, Aes said, ‘We already played ‘Daylight,’ so the joke’s on you.’ Regardless, they dropped, ‘No Regrets,’ which is sure to go down with some of Slick Rick’s and the Beastie Boys’ work as one of the finest hip-hop ballads on record.
Even though the studio version is not exactly a crowd-mover, they turned it into one via the variations they made that night on Lucy’s tale. So it was a risky decision, but worked surprisingly well. About the whole show, like Lucy and her life, Aesop Rock should feel no regrets.
