scene&heard

    Toad’s kicked off a semester of noteworthy hip-hop acts last night with an impressive performance by a lineup of Rhymesayers artists, including indie superstar Atmosphere.

    Supported by a live band and sporting disheveled hair and a creepy mustache, Atmosphere was in fine form, giving fans unfamiliar but still excellent renditions of his most-loved songs, including “God Loves Ugly,” “Woman With the Tattooed Hands,” and new favorite “Sunshine.” Performing for more than an hour, he gave the crowded venue filled with a surprisingly equal mix of students and New Haven residents a performance well worth the $20 ticket. Although Atmosphere came most alive when singing old favorites, the crowd responded well to his new songs too, particularly the achingly sweet “Music Box.”

    Fans waiting to see Atmosphere, though, had to sit (or rather, stand) through a seemingly unending series of opening acts — 2 hours’ worth.  Mac Lethal, a Kansas City native whose act consisted mostly of listing things he hates — Fergie, Nickelback fans, Republicans—was particularly good, but restless concert-goers had to endure three separate appearances by Luckyiam, a mediocre, top-hat wearing performer whose high point was the beginning of his act, in which he rapped to the theme song from Showtime’s “Weeds.”

    Atmosphere was preceded directly by Seattle’s Grayskul, which consisted of two MCs, a bassist and a DJ. Grayskul had impressive beats but lacked the charisma necessary to justify their hour-long appearance. Still, despite the wait, it was a lineup that provided some memorable moments and appealed to fans of Atmosphere’s work.

    New Haven-area hip-hop fans have much to look forward to in the next few months. After a spring studded with shows with Talib Kweli and Clipse, Toad’s is following with RJD2 on October 17^th, and its “Hip-Hop Live” show November 15^th will feature Brother Ali, Rakim, and Ghostface Killah.

Listen to Atmosphere at http://www.myspace.com/atmosphere

While the first thing that pops into mind when the words “Oklahoma” and “evangelicals” are uttered are television preachers from the buckle of the Bible belt, the trio of singer Josh Jones, bassist Kyle Davis and drummer Austin Stephens that makes up Evangelicals are anything but. Hailing from Norman, Oklahoma—origin of the Flaming Lips, Chainsaw Kittens and Starlight Mints—the band’s debut “So Gone” received universal critical acclaim and launched the band on a nationwide tour last fall, during which they made a stop between shows to spend a night at Yale. Davis spoke to scene&heard about Yale girls, the new ‘gelicals record, and their plans for visiting the Elm City again.

Scene&Heard: How did the tour go last year? Lessons learned?

Kyle Davis: Last year was awesome. We ended up circling the country about two and half times. Drink “Emergen-C.” Avoid Plano, Texas.

S&H: What was your favorite city to tour in?

KD: It’s hard to say best…but I love Montreal. Seattle, Portland…New York. All good. Anytime there are people there to see us we’re pretty fucking excited.

(More after the jump)

Last year, the Yale hip-hop scene was defined by the over-the-top lyrics and antics of rap group 108 Tongues, whose song “Fuck Harvard” generated massive backlash across the Ivy League community, leading some to conclude that
hip-hop simply could not be done at Yale. As the new school year begins, however, two members of the class of 2010 are quietly pursuing careers in the hip-hop industry. Ben Ogilvy, of Boston, and Ben Flores, of Idaho, draw from similar artistic influences and have both dealt with the awkward problems that
come with being white middle-class males making music that is deeply rooted in African-American culture. scene&heard sat down with Ogilvy and Flores to discuss their creative processes, the lackluster Yale music scene, and the transition from being a hip-hop fan to being a hip-hop musician.

Sophomore Ben Flores, hailing from Moscow, Idaho, may have only been seriously interested in hip-hop for four years, but in that time he has turned from casual fan to serious listener to self-made MC/producer. His beats are made from far-ranging samples: he’s drawn inspiration from Modest Mouse, nursery rhymes (”Mary Had a Big Old Motherfuckin’ Beat”) and public service announcements. He collaborates with other Yale musicians and is looking to release an album sometime this year. He talked to scene&heard about the jump from listening to hip-hop to making it, the lackluster Yale music scene and the “Fuck Harvard” controversy.

S&H: When did you first get turned onto hip-hop?

Flores: I was first turned onto hip-hop when I heard DJ Dangermouse’s “Grey Album,”…so when I was in tenth grade. I listened to hip-hop before that but strictly what was played on the radio. It wasn’t one of my favorite genres. I really liked the Beastie Boys before that, but I didn’t really have any interest in creating [hip-hop]. I’ve been in a couple bands before, so I got into it as a joke…with a couple friends, and I made a beat entirely out of loops on Garage Band and we wrote a song, the three of us fancying ourselves after the Beastie Boys. It was ridiculous. We made a video for it, my friend was wearing my fur jacket, I had basketball clothing on, my other friend was wearing a clock around his neck. We called ourselves Thug Conspiracy — just a mockery you know? As we started to do more songs which I created the beats for and did all the writing for…we started to get more creative with our patterns and what not. I was genuinely interested in the form as opposed to seeing it as an easy way to channel comedy. I started to treat it seriously.

(More after the jump)