Some shows are well promoted and evenly matched to the usual crowd the headling act draws. This was not one of those shows. A whopping 25 people, not including band members, crammed themselves into the 350 capacity Harper’s Ferry in Allston, MA and proceeded to reap the benefits of one of the most intimate encounters they will ever get with two alternative hip-hop luminaries (and one generic funk-hop act). I got there early, expecting a crowd and while those expectations were dashed upon the rocks, at least I got my pick of any barstool while I waited for the first act.
Simply jumping on stage, donning a disfiguring mask and pressing play, B Dolan leapt into action despite the paltry showing. The scarred and stretched visage belied the flawlessly polished rhyme delivered with unimpeachable flow. There has got to be something to be said for a performer who can deliver a rap about Joan of Arc getting off with a dildo carved from the one true cross and not come off as a total joke. Keeping the “crowd” going with a handy routine of filthy jokes , Dolan segued into his spoken word piece Still Electric and was instantly rooted in my mind as an artist of the highest caliber.
While B. Dolan could have performed for two hours and remained amazing, the fates conspired to give the Indefinite Article something like two weeks of stage time. At one point their keyboard player was riffing out using Dance of the Sugar plum fairies as a base. Musician’s Hell has found its new house band. Lucky for us, Grand Buffet was here to make it all better.
Grand Buffet are some of the biggest kids you will ever meet. Mind you, one of these kids will drink you under the table, but they have an air of childlike exuberance that is refreshingly genuine. Despite a turnout that would have had some performers trying to lynch the promoters, Jackson and Jarrod brought out their best. Opening with the classic “Start Smoking”, Grand Buffet reminded everyone why they’ve been successful enough to quit their day jobs, go on a full European tour and make music on their own time.
The set progressed with the usual Grand Buffet formula; play a few tracks, seemingly at random, and then get wildly tangential. This included, but was not limited to: barking like a dog, kicking at flying bits of lint, impersonations of various celebrities and/or Muppets, doing yoga and the ever-present freestyle diversions about whatever happened to occupy their minds at the time. Jackson took the bulk of the rapping, but Jarrod stepped in from time to time with his more street centered style that plays well off Jackson’s esoteric verses.
All too soon, Jarrod announced that this was the final track and the boys launched into Cream Cheese Money, one of the non-storyline tracks on their latest release, King Vision. Reminding everyone that the rest of the city now had a crippling disease along the lines of “shit-dick” as punishment for not attending the show, Jarrod bid goodnight and stepped off the stage. Jackson remained, sitting pensively and spouting the occasional one-liner until finally bowing to reality and announcing that he had CD’s for sale.
Useful links for further learning:
-Grand Buffet Myspace
-Grand Buffet Seek to Know (live)
-B. Dolan Myspace
-B. Dolan Skycircle Blues (live in Cambridge)
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1 comment:
i hate the word moist.
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