Shabazz Palaces-Brick & Mortar Music Hall 6/11/2011

Not only am I a huge Digable Planets fan, I am also a huge fan of Ish Butler, aka Butterfly, aka Palaceer Lazaro. If you know DP music you know how smooth Butterfly rolls. Siince DP stopped making music together...they pretty much went their own ways. Cee-know always on the grind with his music, and promotions. Ladybug Mecca came out with her own album, "Trip the Light Fantastic". Ish, also came out with his own album "Cherrywine"...all three still creating music but in very different ways.

Shabazz Palaces came out in 2009, 2 CD set. Just looking at the cd covers had me so curious to what Ish had up his sleeves. If you've heard his "Cherrywine" album, you already know this guy was going to come super original! Ish's music is nothing like anything I've heard before. You really can't compare his music to anyone else out there. It's a whole bunch of stuff jumbled up into a song...but ends up fitting perfectly. He uses his beats like no one else does, he uses his samples like no one else. But also seems to somehow fit his lyrics and flow in a particular way that puts the whole arrangement together so sweet! You have to have a open mind when listening to Shabazz...it may not be you're cup of tea, but you can't deny the skills.

Later this month Ish is releasing his 2nd album Shabazz Palaces- "Black up" Thanks to Mic and Nate I already have a copy. And thanks to last night, already have seen him perform it live at Brick & Mortar Music Hall in SF. This is my um-teenth time seeing Ish on stage. Whether it was with DP, with just Cee-know or just by himself. Each time this dude never disappoints. He always puts on a good performance, always makes sure his fans/audience get what they came for. Love his deliverance, and especially his swag. His style is so unique but yet modest and honest at the same time.

Last night Brick and Mortar was pretty packed, and Ish mentioned how they didn't expect so many people to show up. His set up is very simple, a table of his equipment, MPC, Laptop and some other stuff I'm not familiar with, and next to him Tendai (his percussionist) had his set up with all his instruments, the set so simple yet produces this immense sound! Ish and Tendai were encored out for more and they graciously came back on stage to do just that. Moments after the show was over, Ish came out to mingle with the crowd. We were the first to get his attention!! Now I get teased constantly for being so pushy for a picture...but I'm not ashamed! I enjoy looking back to all the artists I love and have gotten to meet over the years! So yes I got my picture with Ish, and I mentioned to him that this was my 3rd picture with him, thinking maybe, just maybe he might remember me, but for some reason he looked passed me and saw John R. and says, "Hey, I remember you!" ..........WHAT?! Nate and I were floored!! I was thinking maybe he was just saying it, but he sure looked like he actually remembered John! Oh, well I'm not too butt hurt! Nate and John chopped it up with him for a minute and I was able to get their picture taken with him too, even though they swore they weren't trippin off it! Hands down Ish Butler is a very nice and humble guy, which made me a bigger fan!

To cut this story short...the three of us had a great time. Live music is always a great time, esp with my friends. "Black Out" comes out later this month so do yourself a favor and check it out! "The Beat Will Always Save Us!"

The Bad Plus: Yoshi's Oakland

First off, Thank you very dear cousin Nelson for always opening my eyes to music I fall in love with. If I had to make a guess, Nelson's first love is Jazz. I bet if he tried, he could still blow a tune or two on a trumpet!! So thanks cuz..for inviting me along with Tin and Josh last night!

To understand and enjoy Jazz is complicated. You simply can't just follow it like a smooth R&B song, or a folk song. Jazz has different levels, layers and intensity. Over the years Jazz has welcomed and included all the different types of music genres, and The Bad Plus makes it sound like butta!

The Bad Plus: 3 very particular and very talented men, who remind me of 3 ex-band directors that branched out to do what they know and love best.. Each note they played were very specific and, the 10 years they have played together really show how their perfect timing and how their talents compliment each others to make such a sound!

Dave on the drums is a maniac! He plays like there's no tomorrow, It's exciting to watch him get into each drum note he played. It seemed like he had an expression with every beat!! His beats were very unique to jazz and excellent with backing up the different pace to each song. I love love love the sound of the bass. I always love hearing a strong and loud bass, and if I can feel it inside my chest I love it even more. Reid on the bass played his strings with perfect placement and did not at all utilize the bass as a background sound. His music stood firm and up front with the rest. Ethan on the piano, was amazing! To come up with cords and to keep the story told by his music is pure magic. Although I had hoped they would have played a couple of covers, I still enjoyed each original song they played! They encored with a cover to Iron man,... pretty damn different to the original that's for sure..but none the less just as hard core as the original too! If you haven't heard of them...check them out. If you don't enjoy Jazz...this could be your baby steps to a whole new world of music.