I had a chance to attend April's Final Friday hip-hop showcase at the Gypsy Tea Room. It was simply an explosive show. Here are a few notes:

-Everyone of the artists that performed took time to make sure that the audience knew that the night was really about Hydroponic Sound System.


-Mes The Jive Turkey is at his best when he is collaborating with other artists. Great to see him on stage with both Headkrack and Bavu.


-Headkrack owns the stage.


-Chucky Sly and Tahiti should perform together more often. As one member of the audience said , "Its good to see the old guys do their thing."


-Bavu Blakes was able to take the tempo down and still bring the energy up. Let me repeat that because its an important concept for musicians of any genre. He took the tempo down and still brought the energy up.


-Also very nice sets for both Verbal Seed and 3 Alarm to open and close the show.

I don't claim to be any kind of authority on hip-hop. I am learning more and more with every show I go to. However, it did not take a trained eye to understand what a truly complete show April's Final Friday was. It is rare that an audience is so into every performance on a multi-band show as they were Friday night.

Keep checking the video podcast page throughout the day. I'll be loading up some of the performances from Friday night.