Kleeman's Last Word

Friday--Day 3, SXSW

Great music lurks in every nook and cranny of Austin during SXSW and it's surprising to find how much of it is free. None of the free shows in the 6th Street vacinity interested me in the least, so I headed on to Auditorium Shores for a killer double bill. To witness Ozomatli and Public Enemy free of charge is like a pro bono lunch at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. It's like a perfect cut of sirloin just dropped on your plate and the only work you have to do is savor it. So far each night has rendered inspiration in me, a rarity for the four day SXSW music juant. As you'll read below, the combination of New Orleans funk and rap proved to be some of the best musical medicine my soul has received in years. I realized Friday, it really isn't about quantity, but quality. After hustling to nine venues on Wednesday, one short of my record for one evening, I only needed to visit less than six to reach musical nirvana. There were few ugly ducklings Friday night, as I didn't waste my time sitting through uninspired muck or off key shouting.

Ozomatli (free show - Auditorium Shores)

Public Enemy (w/the full lineup " " )

Pistol Valve (Japan Nite - Elysium)

GO!GO!7188 ( " " )

Aesop Rock (Emo's Main Room)

El-P ( " " )

Galactic w/special guests Lyrics Born, Gift of Gab and Boots Riley ( " " )



TOP OF THE POPS:

For the first time this week, it's a three-way tie, folks.

Ozomatli - Rare is the band that can mix Conjunto, Norteno, Salsa, funk, rock, Cumbia, rap and r&b and make it sound like ordinary business. The grammy winning Los Angeles group displays immeasurable creativity, especially when the party that is the band's music hits the live stage. Every member of the nine-person ensemble plays an instrument, including the deuling MC's who take turns as rappers and percussionists. As usual, the LA boys ended their set with a massive conga line. It was a shred of predictability in 50 minutes worth of inspired inventiveness.

Public Enemy - The 20-year strong rap rebels might have stolen more thunder if Flavor Flav hadn't resorted to propping his awful show on VH1, "Flavor of Love." When the self-absorbed, bling-toting rapper began hyping himself and his birthday, I headed for the exit. The first 40 minutes or so was hip-hop dynamite, though. Just hearing Chuck D sprint his way through a gnarly version of the anthem "Don't Believe the Hype" seemed to make trekking to Auditorium Shores worth every dollar of the parking fee.

Galactic and guests - Stanton Moore finds rhythm in pockets you didn't know existed. Is there a better drummer to anchor a rhythm section for three of the most gifted rappers in modern music? If you know the burly man who calls himself Lyrics Born, Gift of Gab from the group Blackalicious, Boots Riley and you know the mudsauce grooves of Galactic, you can picture how off the wall this collaboration was. When all three MC's shared the stage with the funk group, hell was so loose it barely hung by a thread. Hearing that Electric Hammond wail underneath rhymes so fast they should have been in the Daytona 500, was "funk" beyond definition. Shit went down and it never looked up again.

posted by Robert Kleeman @ 2:03 PM