BadBadNotGood und Digable Planets

Toronto experimental jazz/hip hop trio BadBadNotGood or BBNG for short have a deceptive band name as no part of their performance could ever be described as bad. It is in fact nothing short of musical innovation as they strip everything back to its very core musically and seem to rebuild it from scratch right there on the stage.

There are tones and instruments that should not naturally go together and vocal tones that do not suit however the clever way they layer it all together means you have a break beat quality that is only ever going to be truly appreciated in a live setting. Performing music from across the three albums, the artists come together with killer guitar riffs and rap verse on the likes of 'Flashing Lights' and 'UWM' which go down really well the gathered fans. They keep stage chatter to a minimum throughout the night but do thank the crowd for coming to see them before dropping a remix of Odd Future leading into their own track 'CS60' to end the proceedings tonight.

Digable Planets was completely dazzling. They came to the stage, introduced themselves, and immediately jumped into their hit single, "Daytona Beach Jams", and the trippy, warped urban beat began blaring, with jazz fusion drumming, and hip hop, sample based production highlighting the great poetry delivered by the vocalists.

I began to get the vibe that this band wasn't an ordinary hip hop group; the crowd around me actually seeming pretty similar to people who you would expect at an avant garde show or a poetry slam, I felt relatively comfortable, and began to pay more attention to Digable Plant's modernist sound.

The poetry felt like it was speaking to me, and the high energy music was giving me a great buzz. I felt excited to listen to what they had to say, and the rest of the crowd was even more intent, obviously familiar with who Digable Plants were. I really got the vibe that who this band was and what they stood for was important to a lot of people. Overall, they were a great experience. Digable Plants was among one of the most inspiring, unique shows I have gone to. I left feeling stimulated and tired from jamming a little bit too hard.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself at Rozzi Crane's concert. With a splashing entrance and beginning of her concert, Rozzi captured her audience's attention immediately and somehow continued uphill from there. Rozzi was welcoming and inviting to us, her audience, and her impromptu dancing rubbed off on the audience quickly. Not surprisingly, Rozzi had a great song selection with some old and some new and some never performed before to make our concert a little more special. At the end of the concert Rozzi took a panaramic picture of her audience, winning our hearts once again and invited each of us to stay to buy merchandise and meet her. She demonstrated class, beauty and patience with each of her friends and fans; talking and taking numerous pictures with many that stayed. The concert was amazing and well worth it's price and small venue. I anticipate the next time she comes to the area and recommend everyone that enjoys "good" soul music to join me! Thanks Rozzi!