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LIVE
IN CONCERT! |
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"Battle
Royale"
The Urge vs 2 Skinnee J's
With Undercard
Sprung Monkey
vs
Kottonmouth
Kings |
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Reviewed By
Donn Jehs
Masquerade
Tampa, FL
7/22/98 |
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Guess most of the fans were at home hoping
to catch this on pay per view, since there was a light, but vocal,
crowd for this midweek concert billed as a "battle royale."
It was more of a punk/rap/ska lovefest, as the four bands obviously
enjoyed themselves and each other, many of them watching their
tourmates perform and singing along. In fact, the opener, "Kottonmouth
Kings," were joined on stage by "Sprung Monkey,"
who provided the musical accompaniment, since the King's instruments
were lost somewhere between New Orleans and Tampa. |
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Kottonmouth Kings |
It didn't appear that "Kottonmouth Kings"
really missed their instruments, as the two lead rappers, Saint
Vicious and D-Loc, delivered hard driving rap that required little
more than a backbeat. Highlights of their set from their album
"Royal Highness" included, "Bong Tokin Alchoholics,"
"High Society," and "Suburban Life" - the
latter also from the soundtrack of "Scream 2." Their
songs revolve around marijuana use for the most part, which may
explain why their appeal is not as great here in Florida as it
is on the West Coast where they originate. They also came with
their own private dancer, visual assassin "Pakelika,"
who wore whiteface like a voodoo witch doctor with goggles, and
was about six and a half feet of limber dance machine.
Their rhymes don't come off as clear and funky on stage as they
do on the album. Their shouted lyrics ended up distorted and
often hard to comprehend. This is a group that would sound better
live if they could come closer to their album's sound. |
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William Riley
and Steve Summers |
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Sprung Monkey was next, and since their instruments
were already on stage, it took only a few minutes before they
were off and running with "White Trash" off their new
album, "Mr. Funny Face," which sounds less techno live
than the CD version. Next up was a kick-ass tune called "Jo
Jo," which had good guitar riffs from William Riley, and
understandable vocals from Steve Summers. Ernie Longoria, the
drummer, did a good bit of counterpunching, rather than just
keeping the beat. |
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Steve Summers |
A cover of "American Girl" followed,
and it was certainly a different sounding cover! Steve jokingly
referred to the band as the "Kottonmouth Kings" backup
band, and certainly there was no ego trip from these guys.
By the way, is it me, or do bass players seem to be lost in a
world all their own? The bass players tonight , in this case
Tony Delocht, and also Urge's Karl Grable, certainly were.
One of the most enjoyable and crowd-responsive songs (the title
being the shouted refrain) of the evening was "Get Em Outta
Here," the band's ode to their hometown San Diego. The song
"Hard Times" had one of the most difficult pieces of
musicianship, since twice the entire band came to a perfect dead
stop with the music, not an echo or a lost note, just absolute
dead silence. This was a band in synch. The poignant title cut
from their album followed, "Mr. Funny Face," before
the set was closed out with "Dead," as the "Kottonmouth
Kings" joined them on stage for the last number. This song
had another strong guitar opening riff, and then mixed in the
hardest rap on the album, or the set, which made it a perfect
song for both bands.
"Sprung Monkey" won this bout, but were gracious in
victory. After all, they were sort of competing with themselves. |
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2 Skinnee J's |
Next up, "2 Skinnee J's" (see "Debuts,"
7/98 issue of AMZ). I was
looking forward to this band after reading my fellow staffer's
review of their appearance in Hartford, and I was not disappointed.
The band came out decked in white ghis, and boldly took up the
challenge of the "battle royale," showing a versatility
and sense of humor that infused their whole set. Even their songs
lent themselves to the occasion. First off was "The Good,
The Bad and The Skinnee," playing on the famed spaghetti
western that launched Clint Eastwood. This was immediately followed
by "Ain't Nobody Does It Better," another play on a
hero, this time James Bond.
From their air guitar play on "Start The Riot (Bring It
On)," to dancing the Charleston, it was like watching one
of the better Saturday Night Live skits - right down to the Dana
Carvey lookalike lead singer and the imperturbable Stumpy doing
his dance. This is a band that has fun up on stage while delivering
good music and a show to the crowd. "Wild Kingdom"
and "Quitting Time" were full of energy and they returned
to the evening's theme with "I'm A Champion." |
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One of the "J's"! |
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"Strike That Ass" had to be one
of the most visually funny songs of the evening as the band did
the obvious. The clever play on their band name continued with
"In The Name Of J," and their closing number "These
Are Not The J's You're Looking For." This not so skinny
J definely enjoyed the "2 Skinnee J's." |
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Steve and Horn
Player - The Urge |
Closing out the evening was the punk/ska band
"Urge," which got the biggest crowd response as the
teenage guys crowded around Steve Ewing and sang along with him
as he leaned over the stage front. They delivered a 16 song set,
with six songs from their new album (see review in New Releases).
This is a band that's fueled by anger, and angry lyrics, and
hits a chord with a lot of young men out there. Just reading
the set list alone would point to the hardcore punk basis that
is a bit mellowed by the horn line, but even those guys can rev
it up to create their own form of speed ska. They opened with
"Violent," "Drunk Ass," "Don't Ask"
and "Straight To Hell," the latter the first cut they
played off their album "Master of Styles." Most of
the evening was spent by Steve and the horn line playing ring
a round the rosy as he sang his lyrics. I got dizzy just watching
those flying dreadlocks, and didn't envy the other guys who faced
locklash at any moment.
"Closer," "Played Out" and "Divide and
Conquer," all from the latest album, followed, but with
the exception of "Straight To Hell" and "Jump
Right In," which is the band's single and video, the biggest
crowd response came from songs like "Liquor" and "Drunk
Ass" - which may have had someting to do with the state
of the crowd by that part of the evening. |
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Steve |
The only low point was Steve's attempts to
talk to the crowd between songs, which, for the most part, consisted
of saying "shit" - stick to singing Steve! Of course
in keeping with the mood of the crowd they played "Brainless."
There is no doubt about the energy this band puts into a show.
The solid horn line and guitars keeping the band on a solid footing
even when Steve's vocals get lost in the crowd. The "Urge"
seems to be the teen equivalent of beating drums to achieve male-bonding,
except when they weren't moshing into each other.
The highlight of the eveing may have been the cover of "Bad
Brains' " "Gene Machine," with its speed metal
opening that inspired a little jaw-dropping surprise from the
crowd before they recovered to chant and singalong.
While the crowd favorite may have been "The
Urge" I give this match to the "2 Skinnee J's"
on style points. |
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Artist: KOTTONMOUTH KINGS
Title: "Royal Highness"
Label: Suburban Noize/Capitol
Reviewed By: Donn Jehs
Rating: 3 1/2 Stars |
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This album has a lot of sly, inventive rap
that thumbs its nose at authority, revels in drug use, and lampoons
the hypocrisy of today's "use it/abuse it" society.
The double team rap offers a good change of pace with smooth
handoffs and a varied style that meshes well. Some of the more
notable cuts are "Big Hoss" and "Bump." As
usual with albums like this, I am more put off by their attitude
toward women than toward authority, especially the bonus track
"Pimp Twist." Maybe their attitude is best expressed
by "It's A Dog's Life." |
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Artist: SPRUNG MONKEY
Title: "Mr. Funny Face"
Label: Surfdog/Hollywood Records
Reviewed By: Donn Jehs
Rating: 3 1/2 Stars |
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After hearing the band in concert, I think
they should have gone with less studio wizardry and more "Sprung
Monkey" on their album - especially on the opening cut,
"Get Em Outa Here," which was terrific live but sounds
a bit machinelike on the album. Nevertheless this is a good first
effort, with a lot of the qualities that have set their labelmates,
"Fastball," apart from the run of the mill band: i.e.
crisp lyrics, clean delivery and good musicianship. They are
sure to improve, so get on the bandwagon now. |
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