SoundDiego: Parker & The Numberman Show Review
Sorry I’ve been away. Really, I’m just getting kinda burnt out, which will happen when you’re trying to curate a website daily while also trying to write for publications that, y’know, actually pay you and then also maintain a day-job that, again, actually pays you.
Anyway, I went to a show last week with Parker & The Numberman, Brother Nature, Broken Dreams, and Daygo Produce at the Casbah. I wrote a little ditty about it at SoundDiego. One other thing I was thinking that I didn’t include in the article was that I wondered if, with a small scene, they could’ve just done this in someone’s basement like total DIY style instead of having to pay to rent The Casbah (if they had to pay for The Casbah). I went to this hardcore punk show a couple weeks ago that was seriously just in a tool shed in some random dude’s backyard and it was pretty crazy.
Anyway, here’s what I wrote. You can follow the link here:
It’s been said that San Diego doesn’t have a hip-hop scene. While the San Diego hip-hop scene is small, to be sure, but it exists. While most normal people might not invest as many cool points into being apart of “the scene” as nerdy rap bloggers might, there’s something to be said for attending a show with a tangible sense of community and support. You know, as opposed to your typical show where everyone keeps to themselves as they wait — impatiently and annoyed — for the headliner to come onstage.
Thankfully, the former was the case at the Casbah on Tuesday night. With Parker and the Numberman anchoring a bill consisting of Broken Dreams, Brother Nature and Daygo Produce — without any sort of headlining name, really — the show carried an idealistic, “strictly for the love” vibe that was hard to write off, even for the most cynical cynic in me. In front of a small crowd consisting of other artists, various friends and supporters, what could any of these artists hope to gain from this show besides the rushing sensation that comes with the chance to perform and the camaraderie that develops from performing in front of your peers?
It was kinda inspiring.
The performances themselves were pretty solid. Brother Nature opened the night with a plea to stop the violence — a response to recent shootings that had occurred in southeastern San Diego–before jumping into a set of lighthearted, soulful hip-hop. Broken Dreams and Daygo Produce followed suit with similarly soulful music, though the audience’s interest seemed to wane during Daygo Produce’s performance.
Parker and the Numberman capped off the night on a high note. The thing about Parker and the Numberman is that they possess this loose, improvisational quality about them in their music and their performances. They seem to take more chances, willing to spit on anything from more traditional boom-bap to indie rock-influenced, lo-fi synths to evendubstep. Really, the duo sounded ready to rhyme on any beat that DJ Collagey would play for them, whether they were prepared for it or not. Of course, it helps that they have the technical acumen to be able to adapt to a wide range of styles. And it was just icing on the cake when Parker swung the mic stand around, taking aim at us as if with a rifle full of rhyme bullets. It was a diverse, fun set that characterized a relaxed atmosphere.
I’ve also added links to the SD Artist Rollcall for Brother Nature, Broken Dreams, and many other artists. I hesitate to add Daygo Produce pretty much on the basis that they still rock the Myspace and the Daygo Produce Myspace has some shitty audio player (probably in the comments section) that automatically plays when you load the page. I couldn’t find it for the life of me to stop it so I could actually hear Daygo Produce’s music so sending anyone there sounds like a bad look.
Reading be fun though:
