Das Racist, Danny Brown, Despot, Fat Tony
Sons of Hermann Hall
October 29, 2011
Better than: losing your buddies at the combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.
The three members of Das Racist stepped up to grace Sons of Hermann Hall's' blue-curtained stage at just about 11:45 p.m. Heems (Himanshu Suri) appeared in a racing jacket emblazoned with U.S. Army branding.
It was a good time. The crowd was amped up, reciting along with the band the chorus to songs such as "Who's That? Brooown!" "Brand New Dance," "Rapping 2 U," "Hugo Chavez" and Heem's own single, "I Want It Bad."
The also set delivered the dry sarcasm the current Spin cover boys' whole identity is based upon.
Heems played air guitar, hypeman Dap bugged out on the delay pedal dressed in an auto-mechanic
jumpsuit and recalled the first time he he'd been in the area and
hearing South Asians with Southern accents and the group swapped headgear
as the opening emcees stepped up the Sons' stage corner to lay around
and chime in their lines from guest-supported tracks.
The heavy track "Rooftop" had opener Despot return to he stage. "Shut
Up, Man" ended with an apathetic ad-lib sing of the charity jingle "We Are
The World" followed by "You Oughta Know" (dedicated to Governor Perry).
The crowd peaked at Relax's first single, "Michael Jackson," and "Rainbow
in the Dark," the last song of the relatively short set.
The night's mixer, Lakutis laid down tracks and the signature hip-hop look in a beanie and flannel.
Danny Brown opened in a Tony-the-Tiger
hoodie/tuxedo jacket. Brown's delivery covered a variety of voices with
his thorny lines. His scruffy persona popped up throughout his set as he
mentioned Xanax no less than three times. Despot delivered a few
Ratatat-produced tracks with a signature Queens flow while lamenting Def
Jux' hiatus. A break during his set also had him leading an aerobics
exercise. Houston's Fat Tony opened the night in a animal-pattern Lion
King shirt. Tony dedicated a few of his tracks to the "the kids."
All in all, an eventful night.
Critic's Notebook.
Stage Banter: Before "You Oughta Know" Heems addressed the crowd: "How many of you here like
Rick Perry?" The crowd then booed. "Oh, so you're all Perry fans here, then," Heems replied.
Random Note: This night boasted the most South Asians I have ever seen in Deep Ellum at one time.
By The Way: With all the Halloween parties going on, a few neat costumes
appeared at the show. The best one at Sons was the pair of illuminated
jellyfish. Full disclosure: I was the dude dressed like Walter from The Big
Lebowski.
