Author: Sam Slesinger
This past Friday, November 16, I trekked up Gilman Road to the Greek Bowl, where KOXY was hosting the “Battle in the Bowl,” a hip-hop extravaganza featuring emcees, singers and enough dance clowns to fill a circus.
The event was scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., but a series of technical difficulties delayed the performance for well over an hour. KOXY Station Manager Max Read (senior) commented on the unpredictable nature of live performances.
“I do want to apologize to everyone who showed up early or on time and was forced to wait,” he said. “But as anyone who’s put on a concert before knows, shows starting on time are a rarity given the number of things that need to be properly put together.”
When The Kemetians finally took the stage around 8:15, I was antsy for some action. After performing a couple of songs, the group addressed the audience.
“You are the future leaders of tomorrow,” they said. They also shouted out the Critical Theory and Social Justice department, and admitted, “This is the first show we have ever had.”
For their final number, the Kemetians pulled students on stage for a dance number. One of the MCs requested a female student to dance with, and he proceeded to grind on her. I don’t want to throw salt, but I couldn’t help but think of Akon’s questionable behavior in Trinidad.
After a brief intermission, group 2L took the stage, and hyped the crowd up before transitioning into a smooth R&B number. Unfortunately, heavy distortion on the vocals limited my ability to really get into the performance.
Like the Kemetians, 2L encouraged crowd participation. They picked out various females from the crowd and got their grind on. “There’s only one rule: you can’t get naked,” they shouted to the audience.
As the audio levels continued to clip during 2L’s set, the live vocals were less audible than the backing track. In spite of this, nearly everyone got on their feet when the DJ threw on Souljah Boy’s “Crank That” and 2L led the crowd in mimicking the choreographed dance moves. Personally, I don’t know why we would pay someone to cover a song that three-fourths of the audience already knew how to dance to, but I can’t deny that the audience was feeling it.
Following 2L, female songstress Alex took the stage and immediately wowed the crowd with her sensational voice. Prince Charles then accompanied Alex on a sultry down tempo track, but the sonic distortion once again disparaged raw talent.Prince Charles proceeded to perform a solo set, backed by a trio of backup vocalists and two, tight-executing dancers. As the set came to a close, the audience began to buzz, and KOXY Events Director Julian Mitchell (junior) addressed the crowd. “This is the moment that everybody’s been waiting for,” he said enthusiastically.
After a quick DJ showcase of scratching and beat-juggling skills, a small army of skeletons (A.K.A. Lil Tommy’s Clowns) marched on stage and began to execute a polished dance routine. They quickly shed their masks and broke out into one of the most gravity-defying dance acts I have ever seen in my life. Within seconds the entire audience was on their feet, and before my brain could process the action onstage, Lil Tommy and a flank of children replaced the pack. I didn’t know that five-year-olds were physically capable of such precise body control. They shook, popped, locked, slid, and generally terrorized the dance floor.
Following the set, the ringmaster of Hard Knocc Clowns shushed the audience. He turned to little Tommy, “You got the crowd all hyped up.” He then playfully challenged Tommy’s Clowns to a battle, and the stage was flooded with dancers; the Hard Knocc Clowns swarmed the left, and Tommy’s Clowns held their ground on the right side of the stage.
As per a traditional break battle, members from each crew challenged each other individually in the center of the stage. Tommy’s Crew dominated early, but when a three-foot member of Hard Knocc ripped his shirt off before krumping in the face of a similarly sized clown, all hell broke loose. Other notable moments came when one of Tommy’s Clowns whipped a folding chair around his legs like a Skip It, and a Hard Knocc clown wheel-barrowed his rag doll-like-crewmember.
Following the battle, Lil Tommy, King Tight and Rocco the Clown wrapped up the night with an MC performance. It was tight, but again, the vocal levels were clipping.
Read said that the audio problems stemmed from a miscommunication between the performers and KOXY.
“I was under the impression that they were bringing their own audio equipment, while they thought we would provide it,” he said. “Luckily, I have two very capable tech staffers, Mark Hurtado and Alyssa Higgs, who both did a really incredible job on short notice and with very little training; they worked with Lil Tommy’s DJ, Hectic, using our equipment, which was very graciously loaned to us by Krystal Wright and PB Tech.”
Overall, the Battle of the Bowl was a success. In spite of delays and audio problems, the performers delivered, and KOXY should be given credit for hosting some seriously talented folks—they threw down about half of their events budget for the event, and it showed.
“I thought it was a total success,” Read said. “Thanks to everyone who came out.”
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