notes on a failed attempt (or, he really can rap that fast!)

I was all stoked for the Busdriver CD release party here in LA last night. It was to be Busdriver performing alongside Nobody and Boom Bip (who shared production duties on Roadkill Overcoat), and Daedelus was going to be recording his set for a live album. I got my girl Brooke all excited, she rallied the troops, and off we went.

We showed up to The Airliner around midnight and things looked promising. Not too bad of a line to get in, or at the bar, and the crowd seemed rather sparse. We grabbed drinks and headed back to the show space, snaked up a few stairs, and walked into a wall of people. We tried to move forward into the crowd, but we were walking uphill (!) into a reverse amphitheater-type setup. Daedelus was just beginning his set, but there was no way we were going to be able to see anything, so we headed upstairs to a different section. This decision proved fortuitous, as Boom Bip was throwing down rave-tastic acidy breakbeats for the unlucky people who couldn't squeeze onto the show floor.

We danced for a bit (to Peter, Bjorn and John's "Young Folks" at one point), and I headed outside to "catch some air." What's this? The upstairs smoking area was a deck looking down onto the stage! All was not lost. Busdriver had just begun his set (with "Casting Agents and Cowgirls," no less. It irks me when people begin their sets with the first song from their album. Daedelus did the same), so we were able to catch his entire performance, paper party hat and all. He played choice selections from Overcoat, threw out a stellar freestyle, and ended the set with "Imaginary Places," leaving a screaming, bouyant crowd.