My Philosophy

Man, much love to DJ AM and Travis Barker (and RIP to
the people who actually lost their lives in that crash); god knows I’ve
made my share of jokes about each—but goddamn, could I get my fat
ass out of a burning Learjet? Probably not, patna.

So, Restiform Bodies and Why? are coming to the Vera
on October 3. Who?
No, Why?. What? Wait, do you even like
anticon shit? Okay, me neither. Glad that’s over. Because the
only show you need to see that night is Jamie Lidell at the

Showbox at the Market—and not just
because of Jamie,
who’s a ridiculous performer with two albums you definitely need to
hear under his belt (Multiply and Jim). The real reason
is Lidell’s opener, Bad Boy–signee Ms. Janelle
Monae (best known for her vocal work on Outkast‘s
Idlewild), who came to Nectar a few weeks ago and absolutely
annihilated shit. Her ATLien brand of futuristic robot-rock&B
had me stuck from note one—as soon as the lights hit, she was
electric, eyes bugged the fuck out, on some female 3
Stacks–if-he-could-really-sing tip, with her band Deep
Cotton in the back tearing it down. If, come Friday night, you
really are in the mood for some next shit (but not in that bootsie-ass
anticon sense), then her show is definitely the move.

Help me out here—have the Pack done anything remarkable
in the last two years, or are they still only known as “the guys who
made a song about Vans”? Have they yet realized that Vans are, in fact,
sneakers? And how exactly have those guys not been invited to be on
Warped Tour? These questions and more haunt me as I ponder their show
at Nectar on October 4 with the Cataracs, Dyme Def,
Fresh Espresso, and DJ Marc Sense. In case you were
wondering, the Cataracs are two cats from Berkeley, Campa and
Cyrano—I actually copped their mixtape Technohop Volume
2 last time I was in the Bay (and it’s been FAR too long, cuddies).
I gave it a couple spins before I lost it, but I recall being rather
impressed—kind of a witty posthyphy,
poprap vibe, if that
crap means anything to you. That said, this should be a fun night full
of young fashion-forward swag-happy individuals all catching
wreck for your amazement.

The definition of “catching wreck” has to be the conscious gangsta
of David
Banner, though—the Mississippi monster is at
Showbox Sodo on October 5 as part of the Hip Hop Live tour. He,
Talib Kweli, and Little Brother will all be backed up by
the trumptight chops of the Rhythm Roots Allstars—this
one’s gonna be nutso. Kweli’s music typically helps my weeknight
insomnia, but LB are thrillingly great in the flesh. Banner is rap’s
AK-toting Henry Rollins. So what do you know about partying or
anything else?