2008 Woodie Awards
'Death Dance' tour triumphs First Avenue
Sage Francis teamed up with some of hip hop's finest to take over the First Avenue stage Thursday night
Kaleb Bronson
Issue date: 7/9/07 Section: Intermission
Concert Review
A hip hop showcase easily created by the powers that be took over First Avenue in Minneapolis Thursday night.
Buddy Wakefield opened the night with a spit fire lyrical approach to political and ingenious spoken word.
He was just the first lick from the musical lolly-pop. After the spoken aspect came the fury of one of Anticon's finest Alias, who threw out sped-up lyrics to drop most MCs like flies.
This was a rarity for Alias, who usually tends to perform DJ sets rather than MC sets of impeccable doom. He also mixed in comedy relating to "wack MCs" to keep the crowd smiling.
And up next was Canada's own Buck 65. This spoken word/rapper/country singer/ musical genius had the house up in arms while he swung his dance moves around the stage with a lanky, yet thrilling approach.
Buck 65 rarely tours the United States, so he is a phenomenal sight to see when put on the stage with a fake neck brace and set of turntables.
Now that he has signed with Strange Famous Records, his newest album will be easily accessible to U.S. buyers.
The house lights dimmed prior to the man of the night rising onto the stage with a metal kick-off. Then it was time for the history of an MC who once played in the Rox Bar in St. Cloud. Sage Francis used his purely aesthetic style to control the audience for the rest of the night.
Mixing in songs from old EPs like "Makeshift Patriot" to newer creations ranging from his newest album "Human the Death Dance" to "Personal Journals" and beyond.
Each song was a scud missile full of energy that ranged from doing the splits to posing with random audience member's objects such as bras, helmets and lipstick.
Throughout the night, all of the performers mentioned many Minneapolis based MCs and DJs, including P.O.S. and Dosh. Not to mention TruthMaze giving a little beatbox help for Buddy Wakefield during the opening set of the night.
The night was made up of some of the most infamous underground hip hop heroes, but one thing was for sure.
Buck 65 controlled the night with his dance skills, rhyming powers and intuitive stage show.
All of the people who entered the stage did it with pride and not prejudice. Each of the artists relayed a message of freedom and prosperity told with beats, rhymes and stories of reality.
A hip hop showcase easily created by the powers that be took over First Avenue in Minneapolis Thursday night.
Buddy Wakefield opened the night with a spit fire lyrical approach to political and ingenious spoken word.
He was just the first lick from the musical lolly-pop. After the spoken aspect came the fury of one of Anticon's finest Alias, who threw out sped-up lyrics to drop most MCs like flies.
This was a rarity for Alias, who usually tends to perform DJ sets rather than MC sets of impeccable doom. He also mixed in comedy relating to "wack MCs" to keep the crowd smiling.
And up next was Canada's own Buck 65. This spoken word/rapper/country singer/ musical genius had the house up in arms while he swung his dance moves around the stage with a lanky, yet thrilling approach.
Buck 65 rarely tours the United States, so he is a phenomenal sight to see when put on the stage with a fake neck brace and set of turntables.
Now that he has signed with Strange Famous Records, his newest album will be easily accessible to U.S. buyers.
The house lights dimmed prior to the man of the night rising onto the stage with a metal kick-off. Then it was time for the history of an MC who once played in the Rox Bar in St. Cloud. Sage Francis used his purely aesthetic style to control the audience for the rest of the night.
Mixing in songs from old EPs like "Makeshift Patriot" to newer creations ranging from his newest album "Human the Death Dance" to "Personal Journals" and beyond.
Each song was a scud missile full of energy that ranged from doing the splits to posing with random audience member's objects such as bras, helmets and lipstick.
Throughout the night, all of the performers mentioned many Minneapolis based MCs and DJs, including P.O.S. and Dosh. Not to mention TruthMaze giving a little beatbox help for Buddy Wakefield during the opening set of the night.
The night was made up of some of the most infamous underground hip hop heroes, but one thing was for sure.
Buck 65 controlled the night with his dance skills, rhyming powers and intuitive stage show.
All of the people who entered the stage did it with pride and not prejudice. Each of the artists relayed a message of freedom and prosperity told with beats, rhymes and stories of reality.