The Cool Kids, Flosstradamus, Ricky Blaze, The Party The Granada Theater August 21, 2008
Better Than: Your car catching on fire on 75 in the middle of rush hour.
Apparently the people of Dallas got the memo there was a free show at the Granada last night because they came out in spades.
Everyone was there--from all different spectrums of Dallas culture: skate-hop kids, skaters, hipsters, frat boys and even the confused Uptown crowd that was wondering where the red velvet rope was.
Due to the fact last night’s show was an RSVP affair, it took a little while for everyone to get inside and see the up-and-down set from Dallas DJ crew, The Party. Their opening set was a little inconsistent during the first part of the show: They'd get the crowd in their hands, playing classic cuts like Notorious B.I.G.’s “Hypnotize” and then they would transition into a song that left the crowd listless and looking around, checking out everyone else. Then they would break into another classic joint like Tribe Called Quest’s “Oh My God” and get the crowd hyped and moving again, only to have their momentum again slip away with a bad crowd read.
It wasn’t until later in their set when the floor was filling up and they slammed into the Salt-N-Pepa classic “Push It” that the crowd finally got riled up. With girls jumping on stage and grinding each other, it wasn’t until then that the crowd really started to come alive.
As The Party’s set came to a close, Brooklyn’s Ricky Blaze came on stage and turned in the most disappointing set of the evening. Whether it was due to timing issues from a longer-than-expected opening set, Ricky Blaze and his faux Jamaican accent only performed three songs, and it was really too short for the crowd to get involved. As he left the stage, the crowd just kind of looked around in bewilderment at what had just happened.
Thankfully, The Party came back for a set preceding The Cool Kids, and this time they found their footing. As they transitioned from one party song to the next, the crowd cheered. The energy became palpable and excitement came over everyone.
Then The Cool Kids started their set. Even though Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish have only been performing together for a little over year, the two of them worked the stage and crowd with the swagger and enthusiasm of seasoned stage veterans. And though the duo only has a slew of singles and EP to their credit, the crowd almost acted as a telepromter, singing along, word for word, with almost every song. It was the biggest surprise of the night, since the duo's music has really only been heard via music blogs and Mypace. Their first huge response came when the beat for “Gold and a Pager” dropped and cheered and whistled like Jay-Z had just shown up. The crowd interaction didn’t stop there, as a dynamic call-and-response session took place for “I Rock.”
As Mikey and Chuck left the stage, Flosstradamus immediately took stared their set. Their equipment was set up directly behind the The Party and The Cool Kids' DJ setups, and they were ushered to the front of the stage once everything was clear. From there on, until it was time to go home, Flosstradamus worked the crowd and giving them proper motivation for a good ass shakin’.
Critic's Notebook Personal Bias: It would’ve been nice if the show would’ve been sold as an 18+ one, since a lot of people under 18 were actually told that the event was 18+ while they stood in line.
Random Note: I actually heard a pair of Uptown Dallas Girls verbally share their disgust in how people were wearing tight jeans, t-shirts and vans. --Lance Lester