MAD RAD ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth
I came into Thursday night’s free MAD RAD show at Neumos interested to see for myself whether MAD RAD’s allure had run it’s course, or if they might be able to sustain their present run as one of Seattle’s most notable/notorious live groups. Surprisingly, in the course of dropping three new songs as well as a ‘cover’ of Fresh Espresso’s “Lazerbeams,” the actually did come out the other side feeling like something more than simply an unrefined brat-rap party group, or a passing fad.
Other than it being a free show, this show in particular was significant for MAD RAD on a couple of levels. As part of gaining their bad boy reputation MAD RAD had an encounter with Neumos security that caused them to banned from a number of area stages. In the intervening year since the incident, MAD RAD has continued to play where ever they were welcome and after a much talked about 2009 that included a Sasquatch set, a Block Party after-show at Chop Suey, and the GO MACHINE, they’ve consistently demonstrated a powerful enough draw that they couldn’t be willfully ignored any longer by venues on their home turf. Word has it the room this night reached capacity by 9.30. A few minutes of ear-pummeling bass and drums from PDX’s Breakfast Mountain prompted myself and Travis of Ear Candy to head to a just-as-crowded Moe Bar to meet a new writer of his and escape until the opener was done.
Macklemore‘s fun loving ease and philosophical lyricism proved to be an ideal compliment and a much needed balance for what was to come: MAD RAD’s shameless pursuit of bacchanalia. In addition the live band he’s been using lately which included his recent cohort Ryan Lewis, Chris from FENCES spent most of the night on stage playing guitar and lending vocals. Of course a guest appearance by XP was in the cards, and even Champagne Champagne and Buffalo Madonna found themselves on stage for a rousing rendition of “Kings.” Everyone went appropriately ape-shit for the Unplanned Mixtape‘s ode to Seattle “The Town,” while “Otherside” had an emphatic edge to the performance that I hadn’t detected before in the recorded or other performances. By the end third song, he had the crowd in his palm, echoing his “KA-KAWWWW” calls during breaks. By the opening bars of the final song “Irish Celebration,” as he paraded massive Irish Flag around, people were chanting the ‘Hey, Hey’ chorus part with no prompting.
MAD RAD have a rep for leaving damage in their wake and I was expecting a bit of it. Thought some might argue that it’s the mark of any good party, it’s largely been used as negative mark on the general rep of the group. If the gentlemen of MAD RAD were themselves in the course of a “dry” January, the very enthusiastic fans in attendance were in no way so constrained. I witnessed a number of fights nearly break out (there were a lot of cute girls), as well as felt the brunt of general sloppy-drunkenness in a way most 21+ shows don’t usually descend to (or ascend to, depending on your point of view). The irony of MAD RAD promoting such a lifestyle while they themselves were abstaining did dawn on me, and I smiled internally, though if anything they looked and felt like much more focused performers sans the substance. Buffalo Madonna was still Buffalo Madonna. And DJ Darwin was still his normal hyperactive wacky self.
Standing up front at first it felt as if I was the poser who didn’t know all the words to all the songs like the rest of the people around me. And then the irony of 70 percent of those people being girls giddily singing along to lines like “Crack that Blunt, Make it Pop, Pop that Pussy, Make it Pop” and “Pay Me, Bitches I have Come Here for My Money” began to sink in. Achieving the cognitive dissonance of accepting some of these songs as not being patently disrespectful to women mostly escapes me, even given MAD RAD would probably claim that many of the songs are dedicated to, interacting with, and loving womanhood. The three new songs fit easily into the synth-and-vocoder augmented aesthetic P Smoov is exploring with not only MAD RAD but also Fresh Espresso. One song called “Tiffany” had P Smoov lamenting how his girlfriend doesn’t like any of his friends and how they collectively are “fuel and fire.” That’s a line I don’t need to apply too much imagination to find it’s origin. Another memorable song reflective of P Smoov’s progressing production style is a song they contributed to the GIVE benefit comp titled “Strange Love in a Strange World.” While singing his opening verses, a squirming Buffalo Madonna, in what I can only infer were “seductive” motions, descended a ladder, before writhing on the floor for the remainder of the song repeating the chorus “All My Lovers, are Strange-ers!” Now this is what I was expecting. What was unexpected was the ‘cover’ of “Lazerbeams,” where they invited Fresh Espresso’s Rik Rude up on stage. Maybe I should’ve expected it, but it ended up being my favorite moment of the night.
While I don’t know if I’d use the adjective ‘triumphant’ to describe MAD RAD’s return to Neumos, I think the night can only be considered a success for MAD RAD. Given the expectation of general disorder up front I’d say Neumos or any venue hosting the band has their work cut out for them, but security handled themselves well, and MAD RAD were light on shenanigans this night to incite the crowd further. Chaos and antics aside, MAD RAD are an in demand act who by all indications have the momentum behind them to remain so for the foreseeable future. And the intent. As the name of their promotional collective/website bluntly states, they are genuinely ‘Out for Stardom.’ At least on Capitol Hill, they are undeniably already famous.
Macklemore with Ryan Lewis ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth
Macklemore with FENCES ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth
Macklemore’s “Irish Celebration” ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth
MAD RAD ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth
MAD RAD ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth
MAD RAD w/ Rik Rude – Lazerbeams! ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth
MAD RAD – Buffalo Madonna just can’t help himself ::: Photo by Josh Lovseth
Flickr: MAD RAD, Macklemore at Neumos, January 21st 2010
