Vaski Live At Toads 06/28/2014

On Friday, June 28th, Toads Place of New Haven CT opened its doors to a small, young audience.  Most standing in the crowd with me were not old enough to wear the house wristbands used to buy beers, and several even seemed young enough to have their parents waiting outside in the car.  Those of us who were old enough to know what an N64 is seemed to have never heard EDM music before. I found myself dancing alone and wondering if the admission price of $30 was worth it.

Vaski, an EDM DJ from Minnesota, played an eclectic mix of genres in a poor attempt to find the audiences' funny bone and shatter it.  He played songs as grimey and intense as Roll Da Beats by Rusko, followed by upbeat, pop-esque songs like IDGAFS by Dillion Francis.  It seemed that Vaski was unable to judge his audience, instead giving up and putting on his personal pandora account.  The 'covers' he 'performed' were even uncut, without the slightest 'Vaski styling'.  Anyone can make a playlist....anyone can press play on iTunes.  Where is the Vaski I saw last year that opened for Excision at the Oakdale? Where is the Vaski that melted my face with his progressive, grimy dubstep? Where is the artist that I became quickly obsessed with?  I guess I may have backed the wrong horse here. Or does the future hold more for this artist?  Time will tell.

Excision - Live At The Oakdale

        They told me to prepare for battle.  They told me to prepare for war.  But they underestimated Excision's Execution Tour.  We all did.

        Twenty-one hundred hours. March 13th, 2013.  We stood silently in our trenches in the dark venue, awaiting for the enemy to arrive.  We had been told at boot camp we were prepared; we had trained for this.  But no amount of training could have prepared us for the onslaught we were about to witness.
        I heard the first explosion about ten feet in front of me.  My rib cage shook.  Some of my men wanted to retreat.  There was a moment of shell-shock.  My ears defended and my vision blurred.  And this was just the first wave...just the opening act.  He called himself Vaski and his tracks blew me away.  His dubstep mixes combined grimy bass, the best of electronic dance and slight influences of prog rock. I managed to film a little of the assault.  The cacophony literally blew the microphone on my camera.

        As Vaski left the stage, he thanked us for being decent victims.  One last blast from the subwoofers and his blitz had ended.  There we were, back in our silent trenches.  Now our eyes had widened.  "I can handle another round," I thought to myself, stupidly.  Little did I know, Excision brought his secret weapon.
        As the house lights rose, a large white sheet dropped from the backdrop of the stage, revealing a massive tank covered in projector screens.  Two massive towers of subwoofers stood on either side, his main weapon for the impending death march.  I found myself covering a young girls ears and grimacing as the first drop shook my bones.  Now we were at war.  Now the beat had consumed us... and there was nothing else to do but join the slaughter.

     An unnamed soldier next to me actually dropped to the floor during a remix of Two Chainz 'I'm Different', only to have his body thrown above the crowd and passed around like a holy rag doll.  Another soldier cleared a small circle in the crowd during the slow build in the track 'Execute'.  Once the drop hit, he flipped his body into the air, completing a perfect backflip, landing squarely on his feet.  Immediately his body slammed against the beat while his fellow soldiers rushed in.  The open circle caved in and a light moshpit briefly formed.

     As the night ended it was evident that I was officially deaf.  My comrades seemed exhausted as they trudged back to the evacuation point.  "Best show I've seen at the Oakdale," I thought to myself, before laying down in the back seat of our transport, waiting to return to home base.  "Maybe even the best dubstep show I've seen in Connecticut."

Neil Young with the Foo Fighters and The Black Keys - Live At Central Park

It was a grueling run from Central Station to the Park, but I had to run.  I would not let myself miss another second of the Global Citizen's Fest, a concert to combat global poverty that featured rock titans such as The Black Keys, Foo Fighters and Neil Young with Crazy Horse.  Rapper K'naan also performed with the support of a female keyboardist, while John Legend brought his smooth voice for an unexpected performance of John Lennon's "Imagine".

The highlight of the night was Young's last peice, "Rockin In the Free World," where Dave Grohl from Foo Fighters and Dan Auberbach from The Black Keys returned to the stage to sing the chorus alongside the aged rocker.  The song lasted about 20 minutes.

Sublime (With Rome) Live at The Comcast Theatre

There was once an era we now call the 90s, when Radio 104 (out of Hartford, CT) played good music and held a daylong onslaught of the best bands from around the country.  This was onslaught was called 104fest.  In those days, Sublime was intact, with lead man Bradley Nowell writing ballads mixing reggae, punk and hip hop.

Sadly, those days are long gone.  In 1996, Bradley died from a heroin overdose, leaving a gaping hole in the music world.  Thus, the band known as Sublime fell apart.  In 2003, Radio104 sold out, flipping to R&B radio shows.  It seemed that all good things had come to an end.  

Having listened to Sublime as a young boy....having been to 104fest in the glory days... standing among a crowd of pumped up hippies at the old 104fest location... I felt like that boy again.  I felt the glory days coming back to life.  A fellow onlooker stopped after the opening song "Oh my god, he sounds just like Bradley." He was, of course, referring to Roman Ramirez, the new frontman for Sublime (now called Sublime with Rome.)  Although Roman cracked his voice during the first note on stage, naked and exposed for all of Hartford to cringe at, he quickly recovered and sent chills down the backs of every long-time Sublime fan.  Bradley's voice swept over crowd out of Rome's mouth, and every hippie there looked on with delight.  It was eerily unbelievable how similar his voice sounded, so much so that I have described Rome as the reincarnation of Bradley (even though Rome was alive when Bradley died....)

Rome

The show, even with Rome's beautiful tenor and the nostalgia of days past, was not as amazing at is could have been.  Bassist Eric Wilson dangled a cigarette out of his mouth throughout the entire show and seemed as if he'd rather be smoking something else, somewhere else.  He even taped down the keys of his synth (producing a deafening pitch) just before leaving the stage at the end of the set, until the tech crew rushed on to ensure the speakers wouldn't blow.


Here are a couple videos of the opening of the set and the song "Let's Go Get Stoned"

As a last thought,

Dear Large-Boned Guy in the middle of the moshpit,
First, it is not acceptable to mosh to reggae.
Second, a mosh is supposed to be a communal coming together to toss our bodies and feel primal, NOT a chance for you to beat up preteen girls who happen to be around you.

Failure - Lupe Fiasco (unfinished)

Lupe Fiasco, real name Wasalu Muhammud Jaco, can be considered a prince of the modern hip-hop royal court.  Introduced to the world by none other than Jay-Z, Fiasco has changed his approach from the 'thug-life; get high; Money-Over-Everything' rappers of todays modern scene to a more graceful and educated form of lyricism.  Fiasco (who is a devout muslim) uses his words to preach tolerance and social justice, and has thus been donned a leader of the 'conscious rap' movement, which advocates anti-profanity, intellectualism and social consciousness.

In the song Failure, off the album 'The Cool', Lupe shows off his talent for witty lyricism, double (sometimes triple) entendres and clever punchlines.   Almost every line in his poetry has a double meaning or hidden message. The piece samples a track by Idris Muhammad called 'Could This Be Heaven', which was released in 1977.

Lupe received critical acclaim for this piece, having broken a 'record' for the most triple entendres in a single song.

Here is a line by line analysis of his words: (analysis in red)

It's mean, so just
Now let me put the streets down like steam rollers

Lupe starts off with a construction theme about tearing down the streets to rebuild them as his empire.  He embellishes this theme throughout the song

With the cats that push 40 ounces through the hood

Comparing drug dealers to 40 oz beer sales

Like king cobra, see me sling soda

King Cobra is a beer that comes in a 40 oz bottle

Cause the extra four in the split is mix

the drugs in this analogy is cut with 4 oz of something else

(It's really 36)

40 - 4 = 36 ; suggesting that there is really only 36 oz. of real booze in the 40 oz.
much like drugs are cut

Used to buy toasters and clips

What drug dealers buy with their profits (toasters are guns and clips are bullet clips)

You can tighten your circle or boa constrict

Another snake reference (King Cobra)

While you was lightin' your purple I was over the scripts


Lupe is a devote religious man; he states he was studying while others were smoking marijuana

See, I couldn't walk the walk


Couldn't really talk the talk


Had to get my talk to properly explain my walk


He needed to be able to explain his actions poetically, lyrically (and man, did he learn how!)

Cause this lack in talk had my walk lookin' off


Now I'm over the limp


At a younger age Lupe could not 'walk-the-walk' or 'talk-the-talk'

Watch how they mugs drop when they see my Verbals able


(that's the Usual)

Reference to 1995 film 'The Usual Suspects', in which the main character, who walks with a limp, goes by the name Verbal

Later in the film Verbal drops his mug in slow motion and looses his limp (hence the previous lines)

When I was po' I was low,

When Lupe was poor he owned Polo shirts

Now me and my chops cop purple label

Now he is rich so he rocks that Ralph Lauren


It's Ralph Lauren on the rap noreat?



Nigg*s brown-nose, they are like alf to him

Alf had a brown nose....duh.


Runners and interscopers not as styled as him


Please don't interscope


It's gonna be a whole lotta IV-ing and respiratin'


If I lean out this window with Irene


Nigg*s as tall as Yao Ming

Will LUP emperor 


It's the foundation, I-beams and the antennas


It's so sears-ious every time I write my john hancock

Sears tower verses the John Hancock building


Like, you could damn near see Detroit (I see you)


Nigg*s is scared of heights (see you)


This is saran wrap and aluminum foil


Some potpourri a little machine oil


I stack my paper and throw off my cents


This is top flo', better look out below


Pennys from heaven is the same as a semi from the sect


And I reign supreme



(reign; rain)

Turn your umbrellas upside down


Did you even catch the change in theme?

This is were Lupe shows his real genius.  At this point the lyrics have changed from the 'construction/ 

building blocks' theme to a 'skyscraper empire' theme.  During the first verse Lupe has climbed out of 

the streets and now sits on the top floor, raining (reigning) pennies (change in theme) down on what he 

has built.


(this is gangsta)


Lupe to the F to the I to the A to the S to the C to the O


From the west side of the C to the H to the I CA to the G to the O


(this is gansta, man)


This is gansta, man


Lupe Fiasco; from the west side of Chicago


Verse 2



And them nigg*s ain't watch


Known from him regime, gangsta lean


Hats on tilt like his sneakers ain't drop out the vending machine


You gotta put more money in


And I shake nigg*s up everytime I drop a bar


It's horse in the Porsche, bricks in the box 


Like more money them every time I cop a car


You see I'm a roller, right?


So it might be a rover, right?


But every time I drop a 'r' get off the streets


It's over, aight?



drop the 'r' from rover = over

Better being ahead like overnight


Like rollers, right, she the chauffeur, right?


So I keep her sober


She don't get fed-ex like overnight


I am dole the might


All that gas can't help, but Solar might


So just call on son (sun)


Drop a 's' pick up a 'o', you know (u no) , put it all on one (uno)


Then brace yourself like overbite


For that quiet nigg* that relocated down south


Comin' back to floss, nigg* get your molars right


Fix your grill


No plaque but a whole lotta cheese


This the drill, mr. Chill gave me the green light 


Like yo the knife


So ima force my will like the force I will


Of course you will


Take my time but wait behind only pertains to that Porsche grill


It's snakes in the hood, gotta watch for that cobra bite


Let me see, there's snakes in the hood


A bird, a horse behind the grill 


Some gator on the seat and a fox behind the wheel


No it's not noah's ark (ark), It's just a flower's start 


This is Lupe to the F to the I to the A to the S to the C to the O


From the West side of the C to the H to the I CA to the G to the O

Verse 3



For achiever, my procedures proceed at all cost


With no breather


I'm all walk, rain, snow, a fever


I'm all coughs, comin after your teacher


I'm on the ball like FIFA, Feva, Lupe, Diche, 


Long live the leaders


I remember I ain't have sneakers, it was welfare


Comin' up for air like whales there


Fila's, but now I'm well here 


I'm Shamu with twelve pair 


And nigg*s wanna take me back to zero like tear, fair


Well, my scale's clear


Your 'see' world is Braille here


I'm Bumpy Johnson, I stick to the streets


Keep my dawgs out in front of me 


See what I'm sayin'? and I push keys wonderfully

Big D and The Kids Table - Live At Toads Place

by Keelan Freitag

In a drunken blur I stopped and stood still inside of Toad's Place.

Around me skankers, nerds and punks softly pushed their shoulders into each other while I felt a smile creep onto my face.
"This is the friendliest moshpit I've ever been in," I said to no one, and then proceed to lift a knee to meet my opposite elbow, joining my amiable strangers for the rest of Big D and The Kids Table's set.


Its called skanking, a dance move that young whippersnappers use as a form of youthful rebellion.  Everyone has their own way of doing it.  My friend, who curls his body up and touches knee to elbow, knee to elbow, or the cute girl next to me, daintily throwing her toes out and flailing her arms, or even the lead singer of Big D... no one could help themselves.  It's contagious, and by the end of the night, everyone was skanking in their own style.


Big D and The Kid's Table are a ska septet hailing from Berklee College of Music in Boston.  Their raw style blends the early 90s punk revolution and the late 90s pop-ska explosion with just a hint of hardcore.  The band has slowly built up a large following, having opened for thousands of shows, headlining 2 tours and playing together for over 2 decades. Their most recent tour was stopped short due to lead singer Dave McWane's battle with thyroid cancer.  He announced himself cancer free last month and the band has decided to make up the missed tour venues.

McWane obviously felt happy to be back, as he belted out "Noise Complaint" and "Shining On", two of the bands most popular tracks.  Trumpet player Chris Lucca and Saxman Ryan O'Conner proved themselves as they remained in tune while adding subtle riffs; a challenging task made look easy.

Toad's place is a notoriously intimate venue and in my opinion, one of the best places you could ever see a show.  The smaller size makes even a small crowd of a couple hundred seem like sardines in a crushed tin box.  The bar is tucked into a corner, leaving the creaky wooden floorboards open to skankers, moshers and spazzers.

Unfortunately the audience of a couple hundred took a while to get energized.  The opening bands, whose style and energy matched Big D's, were not met with the expected zeal.  Most in the audience bobbed their heads and bent their knees to the upbeats, but many were seen standing idly by.

The show may have packed a punch, but had far too many 'still-standers' and 'wall-leaners'.  Those of us that just wanted to skank the night away had a blast.

Dave McWane

Big D will continue touring until the end of July with Goldfinger and Reel Big Fish.

Malkin Jewel - The Mars Volta

by Keelan Freitag

As a long-time fanatic, I usually describe The Mars Volta to friends as a modern day Led Zeppelin, with hints of Yes and Zappa, but produced in a more cinematic form.  Thirty minute long interludes of Cuban cricket chirps separate two (and I hate this word, but this calls for it) epic journeys of mixed time signatures, dissonant solos and intense builds in their album Francis the Mute, released in 2005.

The bands newest record, Noctourniquet, hit shelves last week and has had mixed reviews.  In the 70s prog rock style, The Mars Volta has changed with each album and fans seem to be unsure if they like this new direction.

The first single released before the album dropped was Malkin Jewel.

Seen pictured above, guitarist Omar Rodriguez Lopez and singer Cedric Bixlar-Zavala (or whatever...weird names right?) have been life-long friends, having grown up in El Paso together.  They gained critical acclaim after the formation of their post-hardcore experimental band, At The Drive-In.  After ATDI dissolved, some members formed Sparta, while Cedric and Omar started The Mars Volta.

Prior to ATDI, Cedric and Omar recorded psychedelic dub tracks under the band name De Facto.  The Volta's newest track sounds to me like a mixture of ATDI and De Facto.

Youtuber, JaminMr, had this to say about the song:

"TMV, regrettably, has drastically evolved since de-loused and Frances [The Mute].  I see them gravitating more towards new age punk and hardcore genres.  The first half of the song was weak, following a simple, ska-like chord progression, the singing has so much less range than their earlier material, a lack of distinct basslines...I hope this song does not reflect the quality of the album."


Cedrics lyrics have always been cryptic and there is the cinematic feel to the piece, where the first 'A' section (the simple 'ska-like' progression) builds into a raucous climax in the 'B' section.  There is not the same complexity, however, that has been the staple of their previous albums.  The energy and hallucinogenic feel to their music has evolved into something more: you can almost imagine the broadway play set this piece.

Many critics, however, say this is the best TMV album to date.