i made a deal today, we’re selling real estate

buck 65 & cadence weapon, april 23 2008, hamilton, ontario
(image courtesy of emerging design & photography)

buck 65/cadence weapon/skratch bastid/??? @ call the office, april 26 2008

cadence weapon’s performance this past saturday at london’s call the office made for an excellent show, despite the audience’s general disinterest in anything that wasn’t buck65. alaina and i arrived a little late, so we didn’t hear much of the first set, nor did we manage to catch the name of the performers, though they were pretty good from what we heard. skratch bastid was on next and his set was loud and energetic– consisting mostly of funk tracks and heavy beats– while his turntabling skills set the bar high for the performances that would follow.

shortly after, cadence weapon and the coonskin-cap-wearing DJ weez l took the stage and opened the set with a rousing version of “real estate,” a song from the newly released afterparty babies. much of the set-list featured songs from that album (”in search of the youth crew,” “house music,” “messages matter,” “unsuccessful club night” and “we move away”), and the duo delivered them with spot-on accuracy, looking and sounding comfortable in their surroundings. although the music’s lack of volume was off-putting at first, cadence made up for it with his boisterous stage-presence and faultless exchange with weez l. mr. weapon directed most of his attention to getting the crowd moving, since they seemed hesitant to actually dance to his music. jumping in and out of the audience as he rhymed and encouraged people to let loose and go nuts, helped to get his enthusiasm to slowly catch on, showing that there’s a passion driving him along with his wry wit and intelligence.

Filed under: Concert Review , 2008, cadence weapon, concerts, london ontario, skratch bastid