At
9:00pm, Atlanta's funky hip-hop joint, OUTKAST, graced the stage of the
Electric Factory with their STANKONIA Intro, which quickly segued into
"Gasoline Dreams"......a tune that exemplifies HIP-HOP WITH A ROCK
GUITAR FLAVOUR!!! This shit worked the crowd into a dance frenzy. There
were 3 backing vocalists (2 female and 1 male), 4 dancers (who first came out
dressed in all black with something like SWAT tops with short pants), 2
guitarists & a DJ. Unfortunately, the music seemed to (at times) drown
out the vocals of rappers, Dre & Big Boi!
"SpottieOttieDopaliscious" was the background music when both
guitarist did some great solos. The first guitarist (dressed in blue & white)
did a hot lead guitar solo, while David Y (the second guitarist) did a more
melodic, almost psychedelic solo. As the band members were introduced, one could not resist the
beautiful vocals of Miss Jackson (eh....that's Keisha Jackson......NOT THE OTHER
ONE)!! "Skew
It on the Bar-B", "Elevators (Me and You)", "Da Art of
Storytelling (Part 1)", and "Aquemini" followed the
"SpottieOttieDopaliscious" segment.
Interesting enough, the curtain closed and it was two minutes before the band
resumed. The stage was changed a bit.........picket fences were placed along
the stage. Wait a minute......is this supposed to be a hip-hop show OR a
theatrical play??? If it's the latter, I think the intermission was way too
short!!! (HA HA HA HA HA!!!) "Crumblin' Erb", "Sky
High" (featuring a guest performance by the Goodie Mob"), and an
appearance by Slimm Calhoun on another song were all good, but the
performance of "So Fresh, So Clean" was better with the four guys all
dressed in perfect white T-shirts & shorts, posing and.....well,
"acting so fresh and so clean"! "Spaghetti Junction"
and "Xplosion" were followed by "Red Velvet", where I
noticed one flaw: the DJ turntable scratching was a little too much.
"Humble Mumble" and "We Luv Dees Hoes" followed.........
Submit suggestions or comments to david.brooks@brookenstein.com