A little bit screamo, a little bit hip-hop. (Michael Hawkins)
On a complete whim, I decided to stop by the Fallout Lounge with some friends on Saturday night for the big D-Town Booty Bounce show that we mentioned not once, but twice in this on Friday. And, really, I can't stress enough how great a time it was.
I don't really know what it is about the Fallout Lounge that gets me, but every time I've been there, I've left completely blown away with what I've seen. Can't really explain it, since a) it's not exactly the nicest bar in the world, and b) there's really no stage to speak of--it's more of a performance area carved out by whoever is performing at a given time.
But the Fallout Lounge is where I first came across (and became a fan of) Sydney Confirm, and, now, I'm sure it'll go down in my book as the night I became a fan of, well, a host of other acts. Anyway, more on this night...
DJ Fishr Pryce presented a nice mash-up DJ set to start off the night and get the crowd dancing, and that all led quite well into a very interesting set from local product Scuba Team Go. Can't say the band's name really wowed me, but its sound is an interesting combination of electro-dance beats and a vocal mix of hip-hop flows and not-quite-screamo hooks, and the whole aesthetic of the thing kinda took me by surprise. Check it out...
Bonus mp3:
Scuba Team Go -- "Let's Confuse You"
Scuba Team Go -- "Let's Confuse You"
Bonus mp3:
Scuba Team Go -- "Yew Kant Spell Kewl Like Us"
Scuba Team Go -- "Yew Kant Spell Kewl Like Us"
Interesting stuff, right? Certainly had the crowd going at Fallout (apparently going on a pre-performance shopping spree at Wal-Mart in order to stock an bag of in-performance giveaway goodies helps, too), and I, the consummate anti-dancer, even found myself getting a little "jiggy with it" as the kids so often say these days.
After Scuba Team Go ended its set came Click Claak, whose set was...well, it was alright. The beats were a little average and the vocals were a little sophomoric, but, to Click Claak's credit, it was a strong night all-around, and this duo did little to bring the night's energy down.
Next came Damaged Good$, which proved itself well worthy of the praise we'd bestowed upon the duo on Friday. I'm really starting to think these guys might be special--their live show is far better than I expected it to be after Trak, one half of the duo, told me that this was just the group's second show ever.
At this point, I think its safe to say that Damaged Good$' debut disc, which isn't set to come out until January, ranks right up alongside Midlake's next album on my early most anticipated local discs of '09 list. Lucky for me, though, earlier today, I found this mp3 floating around on an mp3 blog called The Daily Growl in which the DMG$ fellas hook up with English rapper Xrabit for a track called "Killin' 'Em." Might help me and the other newfound DMG$ fans bide the time as we wait for more from this duo. Check that out, too.
And, lastly, this night finally afforded me the chance to see Prince William perform his lauded DJ set after having heard so many good things about his work. Can't say I remember too much of it (uh, no comment), but I do remember people dancing--and I think I might've done some dancing too, if I recall. And given the high energy of the earlier acts' sets, the fact that he was able to keep that danceworthy vibe going can only mean good things.
All in all, pretty awesome night... --Pete Freedman
