 First and foremost I want to thank everyone who works at the Rev Room. Recently they have been booking great shows and returning to the status of one of the better venues to take in amazing live music. I've had nothing but great experiences since my one rough patch at the Toadies concert several months ago. However, Lucero, Girl Talk, and Lord T & Eloise have more than made up for it.
Speaking of Lord T & Eloise, I saw them for the second time and much to my liking and amazement, had an even better time than the first time I saw them. Perhaps that was because I was a hundred times more familiar with their music and could interact more, but there were so many other variables to make it a fantastic night. I really have Eloise to thank for this. When he last took Little Rock by storm with Al Kapone, he graciously gifted me a copy of his new album, "Chairmen Of The Bored." I have listened to this album countless times since I got it and must say it's superb. I'm in love with the idea of Aristocrunk being showcased to the world in order to save the dwindling hip hop scene. I highly suggest if you don't know much about this dapper duo and their never ending supply of backup singers/collaborators, you should check out their website. It's rather explanatory, and I'm fairly certain you will get a chuckle out of it.
So, back to the show. Scratch Track opened and it wasn't quite the band I imagined opening for what was sure to be a glorious night of Aristocrunk. This group consisted of a beatboxer/singer and a guitarist/singer. Albeit the beatboxer was good, the overall feel to their set was too laid back. I kept thinking that they're not getting me excited for what was to come. However, I feel that while they were really solid, they'd be more suited to open for a non hip hop oriented act.
After Scratch Track finished up, DJ Witnesse took the stage. He started spinning mainstream hip hop much to my chagrin. However this was his main tool to get the crowd pumped up for Lord T & Eloise. MysterE (pictured), often jokingly introduced by the duo as the best soul singer Memphis has to offer, ran up on stage twenty or so minutes later and the crowd went berserk. They inevitably knew what was coming and couldn't contain themselves any more. Everyone started dancing around and laughing as Lord T & Eloise took the stage. Always the proper showmen, they simultaneously burst through the fog and the show was kicked in to full gear.
They rapped about the finer things in life, the CEOs, and even black limousines. The content of their songs is extremely satirical towards mainstream hip hop music today, and it is portrayed through witty lyrics and mesmerizing beats. Not everyone will like Aristocrunk, I can almost guarantee you that. I personally didn't know much about it to begin with, brushed them off, but eventually read up on it and fell in love with this aptly, but strangely named genre of music.
Lord T & Eloise performed a healthy ratio of newer material to the older. I myself was much more familiar with the newer stuff so I was singing along to those songs. Obviously I was doing something right because each Lord T, Eloise, and MysterE put a mic down at separate times for me to sing parts of the songs. I always get tickled pink when musicians do that because it's just one more small thing that distinguishes them from other artists and blurs the performer/crowd boundary. I love when that threshold is crossed because it's something that I don't see as many performers doing as much of lately.
Per usual, several champagne bottles were opened, passed around, and enjoyed by quite a few of the crowd. It's one of their trademarks and it always amazes me to see people who don't know that it's coming. To round out the night, during the song "Make Dat Monet" several wads of one dollar bills were randomly tossed in to the crowd which just got us all even more excited. It's signature moves like these that make this act insanely unforgettable.
These men come to entertain, which they do a hell of a job at, make people believers of Aristocrunk, and most importantly they crusade to save hip hop. I have never left one of their shows disappointed and hopefully never will. Keep your eyes and ears open for these kind gentlemen because they have played Memphis in May, Bonnaroo, and are headed to this year's SXSW festival. I expect great things to come their way in the near future, and can only hope they will continue their crusade to make hip hop a viable genre again.
--L
 Intense. Sweaty. Exciting. Girl Talk. I was joined by at least 500 other people crammed in to the Rev Room to catch a glimpse of Greg Gillis, also known to the masses as Girl Talk.
I must state the obvious. Gillis was paid several thousand dollars to push the play button on his laptop in whatever media player he uses. I know quite a few people who are bitter at this, but my guess is that they’re just mad that they didn’t come up with the idea and aren’t getting paid for it. Girl Talk claims he’s not a DJ, but we all know that isn’t true. He doesn’t sing and merely takes breaks to engage the audience while saying a few choice words. However even though he’s a self-proclaimed non-DJ, he’s worth the money for one of the most entertaining shows I’ve ever been to.
So to start the night, I got to Rev Room around 6pm. I was greeted by at least 50 or so people in a line, and was miffed that I had to wait with those looking to pick up will call or hoping to buy a ticket. Nearly half an hour later an employee shuffled those of us with hard tickets to come around to the side door. Three of us went over, and I staked my place as first in line. After waiting for a while, 7pm rolled around, and everyone thought the doors were going to open. Instead we were told doors wouldn’t open until 8pm. I didn’t particularly care because I was the first in to the venue. It was well worth the wait because I bought my water from Rumba Restaurant prior to entry so that I could have first crack at my favorite spot in front of the stage. I stood there and semi-patiently awaited the opening act, Mad Happy, for two hours. Normally Rev Room starts on time, but they were running a full hour behind. Anyways, Mad Happy is an expectant couple that had some great lyrics to lay over even sicker beats. I feel they were the perfect opener because they sure got the crowd riled up. Not everyone in the crowd was as excited fro them as I was because they started a Girl Talk chant before they were even finished. I kept thinking that was rude, but brushed it off to fully enjoy the rest of their 40 odd minute set.
After Mad Happy finished up, the lights were turned down low, the fog machine was cranked up high, the crowd began to pulsate with energy, and a fight erupted. I’m not even sure what it was about, but I saw at least three different people directly behind me punching each other while I was trying to avoid being pulled in to it. Tensions were running a little high there, and it didn’t help that Rev Room made us wait even longer while Gillis’ laptops and table were being set up. By this time I had shifted only a mere couple feet away from my original spot, finding myself directly in front of the middle of the table. I fought tooth and nail to keep that spot, and I’m extremely glad I did that.
So, after an additional half hour of waiting, Girl Talk emerged on the stage through the faux fog, and things were on. The crowd surged forward and rushed the stage. I’d say a lucky fifty or so people got to dance up there for the duration of the show. Apparently it’s in Gillis’ contract to let people dance on stage with him, but having never seen or read it, I don’t know if there’s truth to that. It was at least at least true this night. With that rush of people, a tiny bit of space on the dance floor was freed up for those who chose not to get on stage.
From where I was standing, I was no more than an arm’s length away from Gillis for most of the show. Everyone was laughing, sweating, and smiling, but most importantly everyone was dancing. The crowd was one giant mass of sweaty people in fantastic spirits as Gillis played mash-up songs comprised of everything from M.I.A., The Cranberries, O.P.P., Beyoncé, and Black Street. While most of the songs were blends of contemporary radio music, he did manage to weave in several songs from the 80s and 90s to round out his set.
I literally could not have asked for a better night. Yes I almost lost my glasses on the dance floor, but I thankfully caught them as they hit the stage and were heading towards the floor. Yes I got my face forcefully shoved into Gillis’ table, but I didn’t break a tooth which was my major fear being so near the front. Sure there were fights, but things were resolved in a relatively peaceful manner and those involved were either kicked out or forgot their differences when Gillis started up. All of these crazy things combined to form one Captain Planet-esque night of joyful revelry that left everyone hot, soaking wet from everyone’s sweat, and almost certainly happier than when they arrived.
Gillis is a genuinely nice guy and entertained fans for photographs after the show. He said I was pretty awesome for keeping my spot in the front the whole time, which just made me smile, and then we talked for a couple minutes where he said he was glad he made it through the show with nothing bad happening. In the blink of an eye, Gillis was gone, leaving me and a couple of friends standing in a nearly deserted and trashed Rev Room that was eerily awesome. Whether or not I take stock in his proclamations of not being a DJ, I survived Girl Talk nearly seven hours later, and I would gladly be pushed around and pushing back to see him again.
--L
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