Blender headed over to the Domino Room last night fully ready to get down to some good underground indie hip-hop, sample some Bud Light and maybe even unleash some popping, locking and dropping. At least two of our three intentions came to fruition. Because we're devoted to bringing you complete concert coverage, we showed about a little after 8. So did about 50 other people. Musab was on stage and right in the middle of "See You Thru My Shades" (while wearing a very nice pair, we might add.) By the time Blue Scholars walked on, the crowd had gotten larger and was clearly enjoying the energetic show put on by Geologic (who Blender thought was wearing a tuxedo t-shirt that was actually just some unique tie-dying) and Sabzi.
When Aesop Rock took the stage around what we think was 10:30, the Domino Room was full, hot and smelling very faintly of pot and cologne. The energy level had increased significantly by the time Aesop Rock and Rob Sonic (who we thought looked very much like a cross between Seth Rogan and Jonah Hill from Superbad) started their set, which included some triiiiiiippy video accompaniment, believe us. Then the sound problems started. Despite frequently losing their microphones and background beats, the two performers proved that they were great showmen. Aesop Rock nearly created a frenzy when, frustrated by the loss of music stated, "F***k it" and just kept rapping the rest of the song freestyle. After finishing with the title track from Aesop Rock's latest release None Shall Pass, Aesop Rock, a very sweaty Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz left the stage to make room for Hieroglyphics.
Some attendees left, put most packed down to the floor around the stage and it was elbow room only by the time the Oakland group started. Almost immediately, the sound went down again (from Blender's viewpoint, it looked like the whole sound station near the back right lost power) but was back up in a minute or two and the crowd didn't seem too affected. After playing a couple newer songs, Hieroglyphics announced that they felt like celebrating the 10 years they'd been doing underground hip-hop and would mix in some of their earlier cuts. Out of all the acts that took the stage, Hieroglyphics managed to get the entire crowd dancing, including a young man wearing a trout t-shirt, which was something Blender had never seen at a hip-hop concert before.
