Friday, April 20, 2007
It's not every day a nationally recognized hip-hop star sets up shop for a night in Portland. This weekend, Portland has four.
Today and Saturday, Kool Keith, Kid Koala and Talib Kweli will play shows in Portland. It all kicked off Thursday night with Mr. Lif of the Perceptionist at the Station with indie hip-hop collective LabSeven and Granite State.
While no hip-hop fan will complain about having too much of a good thing, there could be some tough financial decisions to make this weekend -- unless that tax return came early.
Kool Keith, also known as Dr. Octagon, performs with Kenmore starting at 9 tonight at Space gallery. Tickets cost $15.
Kid Koala, who's known for live shows incorporating turntables and video displays, is on a 90-city tour for his new album, "Your Mom's Favorite DJ." He plays the Space Saturday with Sontiago and Dilly Dilly at 9 p.m. Ticket prices are $10 in advance and $12 on the day of the show.
Kweli arrived on the scene in the late '90s as half of Blackstar with Mos Def. His newest album, "Ear Drum," is expected to be released this year on the label he co-founded, BlackSmith Music. He'll be at the Station with DJ Jon on Saturday. Doors open at 9 p.m. Tickets cost $20 in advance and $25 at the door.
Just for the sake of math, if someone bought tickets in advance for all four shows, it would cost $55. At the door, it would be $65. That's at least a cable bill or week's worth of groceries.
"I think it's a little ludicrous," said J.J. King of LabSeven. "This is literally enough booking for six months for Portland."
LabSeven is also performing with Granite State and Mr. Lif tonight in Exeter, N.H.
As fans of Mr. Lif and the Perceptionist, playing the same stage is incredible, King said.
When big names come to town, it's great for the music scene; it gets the crowd out and provides exposure for local artists, he said. "It's the spring jump-off for the summer, that's for sure."
Steve Woitasek of Eye9D Presents said coming to Portland sometimes isn't worth the cost for big-name commercial acts.
Eye9D Presents, which books groups all across music genres, lined up the Mr. Lif and Talib Kweli shows.
Travel expenses aside, finding a large enough venue that can guarantee hundreds of people is difficult, Woitasek said.
While it's not surprising that artists want to get paid, they also want to reach as large an audience as possible, which includes people under 21. For the most part, Portland's venues are largely for people 21 and over.
"It eliminates 50 percent of people with disposable income who are interested in hearing live music," Woitasek said.
He said the city needs more music clubs that can draw big acts for audiences of any age.
DJ Jon, aka Jon Hawkins, said seeing national acts gives local artists motivation to do more. It's also just a good time to see artists you like live, he said.
Todd Bernard, events director for Space, said the idea for the next two days at Space is "there'll be something this weekend you want to see."
Bernard said Kool Keith and Kid Koala have a broad appeal that extends beyond hip-hop fans.
Still, as exciting as the weekend is, Bernard admits it could be an expensive ticket for some. But how often does a chance like this come along, he said.
"They have to break open the piggy bank for this weekend and commit to a couple of shows," Bernard said.
Staff Writer Justin Ellis can be contacted at 791-6380. See his blog at:
www.pressherald.com
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This crowd will be filled with the very people that most rap artists would rather kill than interact with.
Except for the fact that they'll be filling their pockets with cash.
What on earth will they rap about? and how offended will the audience be when they start railing on "whitey."report abuse
I strongly encourage everyone to see/hear the video for Basin Street Blues before you dismiss this artist as some hip-hop rapper you couldn't care less about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP9lXjE1bxE
Now I just have to figure out if I can make it down to Portland on such short notice-- I had no idea he was coming to the state!report abuse
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