Now I gotta admit, I didn't think I would be writing this one, I knew n,n. would be incredible, but this was beyond. Cloud rap is still pretty alien to me and I can only say I enjoy a select few, but the vibes each rapper gave from this show was very enjoyable. I've personally never listened to anyone on the bill other than nothing,nowhere. so it was definitely an adventure, luckily I was accompanied by my friends who just so happen to follow the cloud rap trend.
I'll get this out of the way now. I've know nothing,nowhere. for years. Him and I met in algebra class at Foxborough High and would poke fun at each other for listening to bands the other didn't enjoy. Eventually we came to a mutual agreement that As I Lay Dying was both one of our favorites, and from there, he introduced me to a few hardcore bands, and thus began my journey into hardcore.
First up we had Jay Vee. Now rap shows I'm not used to, I'm pretty sure this was my third one to be honest, but I guess its a tradition to have some sort of dj host and do a set of remixes of popular songs. Most of the stuff Jay Vee would play was cloud rap songs and randomly the opening riff to "My World" by Code Orange. If anyone can tell me what the link is between Soundcloud rap and bands like Code Orange that would be great because I still don't see it. Anyway, the crowd was half dancing and half chilling and talking to their friends, however there was moshing to the Code Orange riff. Before Jay Vee ended, he stated "I got one more and I know you guys know it" and it was the song "hammer" by nothing,nowhere. remixed into a Good Charlotte sounding emo/pop punk song and another pit was started. Can't say I'm too impressed by a dj set but like I said before, these type of things are still new to me, but as long as the crowd is entertained, thats all that really matters.
Lil West was next up. I was definitely impressed by his music. Some songs were actually dark and eerie sounding and others were nice and beautiful. Bonus points for that sick hair style. I couldn't help but notice that the entire song he would perform was sampled including the vocals. I mentioned it to my friend Connor McGovern and he told me "Yeah its just something they do, the just rap over the whole song instead of just the beat". Very interesting but it got to the point where I wasn't sure if I was hearing Lil West rap or just the recording. Nonetheless his music is what really impressed me in all honesty. It almost reminded me of HO99O9. For his last song, Shinigami came on stage and did his guest spot, and at the end of the song he was actually screaming.
Lil West walk off stage thanking the crowd and Shinigami took over. I'll mention Shinigami was wearing heavy eyeshadow and from my perspective it made him look like two things: he hasn't slept in days, and an overpowered antagonist (probably what he was going for). His songs were a lot more on the sad side, made me see why he was on the tour. I turned and said to my friend Cam "Dude he's actually pretty cool", he responded "yeah dude he actually has songs with breakdowns and he screams". Right after he told me this, Shinigami actually played one of those songs, and I gotta say, it literally sounded like a Close Your Eyes song with a heavier breakdown. Of course that song I was definitely into, but all of his actual rap songs really did grab my attention. It was literally like I was hearing the soundtrack to an emotional anime. At the end of his set, Shinigami credited nothing,nowhere. saying he was a big influence for him, and it definitely shows.
Up next: nothing,nowhere. To begin, the old guy from the "i've been doing well" video introducing him. The stage was set with the band and a projection screen flashing the n,n reaper logo with the background constantly changing scenery whether it was a forest, city or home videos. If I know n,n like I did in high school, I know he probably did those videos himself. He came out and said "This is nothing,nowhere." and began the song Houdini. The crowd chanted every word as if it was a pop punk show. The next song "Clarity in Kerosene" was the same way, but the energy from the chorus erupted with so much force on both sides. I'm sure you can guess it was like this throughout the entire set, even when he gets to faster rapping parts, the crowd still knew it and sang along.
n,n stated this was the first hometown show in a while and gave a shout out to his parents, friends and family. Eventually, an old friend from my high school, Connor Appleby, crowd surfed on stage. When the song ended, n,n gave him a special shoutout and said that he looked like he was gonna stage dive but didn't want to. He then proceeded to play the song Connor is in the video for, "Hopes Up". Connor crowd surfed back on stage, and when I saw that, I knew I had to follow him. I crowd surfed during the chorus and n,n got a huge smile on his face when he saw me and put the mic in my face, I then dapped up Connor and backfilpped back into the crowd.
The song ended and n,n stated he was happy to see people he knew crowd surfing. He played some more songs some old some knew, kids sang along and even started a few pushpits, but the song that really popped it off was "hammer". That song brought the most energy I've seen all night. Everyone was moving whether it was moshing, dancing, crying, you name it, it was incredible.
The entire night was definitely one to remember. Cam and I met up with n,n after the show and reminisced from our high school days and of discussed the vegan straight edge. Fan-fucking-tastic!
