At the Newport, Part I: The Family Tour

World, it’s been a while.

For this, I apologize. I’ve been distant, and I want to soothe the emotional scars with some minty-fresh reportage — it’s the balm, yo.

Recently, I saw two shows at Columbus’s Newport Music Hall. Similarly arranged to Boston’s House of Blues, but on a smaller-scale. The speakers were stacked and the ceiling’s gothic engravings spun with the shows.

The first show was a Rhymesayers fiesta, a tour called The Family Tour: Minnesota-based Atmosphere headlined; Budo and Grieves opened, along with Blueprint (who also opened for Macklemore at Kenyon College a month before). Oh, and on top of all this goodness, it just so happened to be on April 20th, a very special day… because my sister Zoe flew to Ohio to see the show with me! What’s more, m’dude Scotty came along, and we met two more Kenyonites there… yay friends!

Budo and Grieves were the first on stage. The duo are long time friends, not to mention amazing artists. Grieves raps and croons while Budo lays down the beats and plays the trumpet, guitar, and keyboard.

Grieves’s lyrics are typically atypical, as Rhymesayers rappers tend to be. In the song “Scar Gardens,” Grieves laments over lost love, singing, “Purple hearted scar garden harvesting my thoughts song / and, with the chalk gone, / the problem still exists. / At least the outline of its death prevents another fatal kiss.” He’s one of the best I know at rapping about the opposite sex since Snoop sang “We don’t love dem hoes.” Grieves’s best known song is “I Ate Your Soul,” and he TORE IT UP at the show. The song also provided Budo a chance to display his skills as an DJ. Listen to the song, but key-in on 2:54 … that is Budo.

Budo was actually the most impressive performer of the whole night, in my opinion. His unrestrained passion was violently refreshing. In the song “Gwenevieve,” he alternately tore electric licks into the guitar and screamed the refrain “Burn it down!” in an unbridled cry. Powerful stuff. I may or may not have teared up a little.

Blueprint was on next. I already talked about him in an article linked above, but I’ll add some brief commentary. Both when I saw him at Kenyon and at the Newport, Blueprint was the most down to Earth artist I’ve ever seen. Before and after shows, he is so personal with and receptive to his fans. Zoe got a picture with his ugly/goofy mug. On top of this, he gives every performance his all — visceral, full of grit and experimentation.

Finally, we got atmospheric. At the first show of their tour, promoting their new album The Family Sign, Atmosphere delivered a stirring performance through the smoke-clouded room to a weed-addled crowd.

The relentless rage; the unfeeling feeling; a cigarette burn scarring skin… Elation in relating over resentment; angry at ourselves and society; an empty glass just grinning to be filled… I know it’s cliche, but words really can’t capture the energy and emotions that Atmosphere draws from and injects doubly back into their music. Hearts swelled with the throbbing bass in “You,” limbs lurched with each line in “Puppets,” smiles widened with the landscape laid out in “Sunshine.” And those were just the old standbys.

Atmosphere played songs off of The Family Sign, as well. The album is darker than some of their others have been. Here’s some other commentary on the album as a whole:

The Family Sign is Atmosphere’s most personal and intimate album yet; it involves and engages the listener like never before.

[It] comes from a place well refined and firmly planted, from a universal perspective.

[It] is a tribute to their true extended family: their fans, their loved ones, and each other.

— http://www.rhymesayers.com/atmosphere/releases/

The concert was amazing. My sister had a good time. I bought a t-shirt. Couldn’t get any better.

I realize this blog doesn’t exactly specialize in rap or hip-hop; I also realize that all of my posts, even covering the band Why?, have been at least semi-hip-hop oriented. Which is why I’m happy to say that my next post, the second installment of At the Newport, will feature an electronic-infused jam-band called Papadosio that’s been up-and-coming for a while now. Look out for it, here, on PTC!

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