Blu & Exhile, Ardamus, Flex Mathews & Friends @ Liv Nightclub...

Well, it happened…DC decided to give the much-hyped about West Coast duo, Blu & Exile a warm reception, and come out in full-force to support the local luminaries opening the show that night…This is a rare feat, that I have seen going the way of the dinosaur in my city…Years ago, it was pulling-teeth to get people(let alone females) out to a hip hop show, especially on a weeknight(Tuesday), and it usually turns into a “weaknight”…*Ahem*…Anyway, over the past few years, DC hip hop has been on the rise, and now is no exception…Shows are getting thrown in all area’s of the District, not just venues in NW, different crowds, demographics and artists are mingling, and their local/national popularity, is ever-increasing…

I hadn’t been inside the legendary Bohemian Caverns on 11th and U Street, in years…The landmark on the corner, actually houses three business’: The Caverns in the basement, a restaurant on the middle-floor, and Club Liv on the second floor…I hadn’t been up there, since the good people at Organized Theory threw a party with a Cage and Yak Ballz 4 years ago, it had changed a lot…The stage was new, closer to the ground, wider, and on the opposite side of the room from where it had been…New wallpaper covered the walls, a small VIP area had been set-up, and that annoying rise in the middle of the dance floor had been removed…With these new observations swirling about me, I realized I was rocking to the sounds of one of the city’s premier DJ’s/beatmakers, Damu the Fudge Munk…From his musical selections, to the fact that he doesn’t use Serato, Damu keeps it classic with crates and 2 Technics at every function, guaranteed to the turn the party out with a doubt… Dj Underdog, owner and proprietor of famed, hypebeast- hangout Major, came on the wheels, and dropped in some reggae gems in-between Damu’s cuts…With that being said, Ardamus was about to set the tone for the evening…

I just copped Ardamus’ When Nothing Goes Right LP, and was excited to see him perform some of the material live…I hadn’t seen him perform in awhile, and he was completely undaunted by the packed room of fans, and fellow musicians…He ripped through “Superdrugs”, “When Nothing Goes Right”, and “Drinksmoke” off of the LP…He brought up Double-Plus, the other have of Ardamus’ side project, Ardaplus and they did a track together…He also brought up Keyote to rip through the DJ Eurok produced DMV anthem, “The District”…By the time Ardamus’ set was done, the crowd had been thoroughly warmed up, and introduced to some of the cities most formidable hip hop talent…Sweaty and breathless, he left the stage in spinters…

After a short intermission allowing spectator’s to catch their breath, DC’s own “Handsome Grandson” Flex Mathews, took the stage…Realizing how Ardamus set the tone earlier, Flex was not shy, and immediately made plans to win the crowd over by throwing out 15-20 Easter eggs with candy inside to them…Once the bribe was completed, Flex tore into a energetic rendition of his show staple, “Rookie Of The Year”…Following that with a freestyle session, that included him rapping about items that the crowd passed to him…From iPhones, to condoms, and batteries, to dollar bills, Flex cannot be stopped and always hits his punch…Flex spread the love to 3 of the area’s most, up-and-coming artists, and deferred his remaining five minutes of show time to bring on DC heavyweights, Lyriciss, Pro’Verb and X.O. to perform their smash, “We Go Hard”…This was vintage Flex, this wasn’t planned either…All three of them came to the show for support, and happened to have a cd with the instrumental on it, and they got up and rocked with Flex’s co-sign…That joint bangs!

Needless to say, Blu and Exile were going on with the crowd at their zenith…Unfortunately, things kinda slip downhill after this point…It took about 20-25 minutes to bring them on, Exile’s MPC and turntables kept going out, because people were all over the stage and stepping on the cable…Later, the sound became atrocious and sounded really, tinny and distorted, due to a blown monitor…Forgetting these minor inconveniences, what about Blu and Exile, right? Well, I really wanted to check the show out, because I wanted to see if Blu was going to perform as boring as he sounds on his records…Don’t get me wrong, I like his material, his beat selection is awesome and unique, his content is dope, etc. etc. But, he’s monotone, doesn’t flip his cadence up, come up with interesting themes/topics, or hooks…He’s a good rapper, that’s about it…He doesn’t move much, doesn’t talk to the crowd much, although he had good things to say, and bigged up the acts prior to him…After a couple of songs and about 30 photos, I moved to the back of the room to catch a beer and people watch, because I knew my photo’s were not going to improve, …Even though the emcee was lackluster, Exile killed it with his MPC/DJ routine he did at the end of the show…

With all that being said, it was a good night in our Nation’s Capital and showed a full-house, and a group from the West Coast, that the DC hip hop scene is on the rise and must be recognized!

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More photos, here...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oneviisiion/sets/72157616302343963/