MC Frontalot at The Triple Rock, May 28th, 2006

written by: Cory Q

MC Frontalot made his Twin Cities debut at the Triple Rock Social Club on Sunday, May 28th, 2006 and I bet you didn't even make it to the show. How do I know? Because SAH and I were among the Nerdcore Elite who did make it in the doors. Sure, we had to make up phony press passes, endure body searches, bribe some security folks and so forth, but it was worth it to see the worlds 579th most popular rapper.

We did not go to this show unprepared for the media blitz, however. No, wait, yes we did. I made a three and a half hour drive into town straight from Family Obligations (pop. 4385) just under the wire to make the show and SAH is just too misanthropic to prepare an interview. What we did have was Nick K, brother to famed MRT writer Chris K (now on semi-permanent assignment in California who introduced me to Nerdcore in 2004), at the show in Lawrence, KS, the night before.

Nick is frenetic in energy and ideas. He whomped up a clever concert promo video at the last minute and posted it on the internet. With this bold stroke he penetrated the veil of legitimacy to get 'backstage' with The Front and the keyboardist. From all accounts it was a caviar-eating, limo-riding, cash-wasting good time.

What this means is that if SAH and I had been more prepared (but we didn't want to lose our indie clout) we think we could have gotten an exclusive interview for you, dear reader. We struggle with the idea of 'legitimacy'. Having worked in radio, I learned that very little of what makes it to your ears is pushed by a monolithic machine thrashing out hits. Most, if not all, of the good stuff is passed hand to hand from fan to fan through narrow tunnels and random connections. Like this site, sure we are slick and well produced, but it is by the super-human effort of a precious few. The same goes for MC Frontalot. We were able to shake hands with the man who fronts the most directly after the show and he seemed, in the Midwest way of things, "nice".

But on to the show. Since we didn't get the interview, we do have a show review for you!

The doors opened at 10pm. There was an opening act, but it was confusing. The 'act' was called Saint Pauli GRLA. It seemed to be a mix of stand up, swearing, furry fetishism, and beats. I do have to admit that the song "Hippo Rodeo" was funny in a good way. It was like a mix of Throbbing Gristle and Brak from "Space Ghost Coast to Coast". He did have one really good quote for the night: "Spellings a f***ing waste of time". After about 30 minutes of that, there was a break in the show where we were forced to listen to Ol' Dirty Bastard. I figured this was the section where we had to suffer for what we love.

After about 20 minutes of that, the show started in earnest (11:35pm). And let me tell you, Frontalot showed up with his +1 bag of nerdcore hiphop for the faithful. I was slightly disappointed in the number of folks at the show but the crowd who was there was live and ready. My guess is the small amount of press and the holiday weekend didn't help, not to mention the 21+ age for the venue. Oh, and of course the intense security measures due to The Front's hardcore celebrity status...

The band (yes, a real band, with skills and flare and jams everything!) came out and started a pretty sweet jam. If that ends up on the internet, I would totally download it. So, the bass player (Blak Lotus), the drummer (Mr. Genius) and the keyboardist (G minor 7) get a good groove going and MC Frontalot comes out and breaks straight into "Indier than Thou". I can say at this juncture that his shirt did appear to fit poorly, but his tie was awesome.

"Crime Spree" came up next. I appreciated the fact that at the end of this tune Frontalot said "We don't need super loud sound, we appreciate clarity." to the sound guy who was really pushing his equipment.

"Message #419" came up next, which is a personal favorite. This is when we noticed that Frontalots 'dancing' seemed more to be out of obligating rather than comfort or kinesthetic sense. Truly only a nerd can move like that.

The segue into "Hassle: The Dorkening" was funny with the tossing (52 Pickup style) of Magic cards into the audience to demonstrate disdain for the collectable card game.

Next was the "Roll-A-Song" portion of the evening. We, as an adoring crowd were asked if we wanted to hear "Fronts The Most" or "Braggadocio". The louder cries were from the Braggadocio contingent so the band rolled a plush d20 as a saving throw for Fronts the Most and came up with a 1, (an automatic failure of course) so we were all subject to his thrall with a tight version of his hyperbolic brags.

"Yellow Lasers", perhaps the best Star Wars themed song in existence, preceded The Pr0n Song. The Pr0n Song was a very good example of the excellence of the act on stage. They hit several different musical styles and the lyrical speed of The Front is indeed notable. He hits a lot of big words quickly and clearly. "We are telegraphing all of our personal problems from the stage, and we'll continue on that line, but without the amusing filth aspect" was his comment between songs here.

"Special Delivery" was up next and was played with a more Rage Against The Machine sound and intensity. I think it went over well given how liberal Minnesota is.

Here is a sneaky photo of the MC Frontalot show!

At this point in the show, we learned that the bass player is from Minneapolis. I had thought the crowd was just really diverse, but it turns out the older folks sitting next to SAH and I were related to Blak Lotus. I'm sure they still enjoyed the show.

Frontalot said that he had a public service announcement and broke into a quick and tight version of "Floating Bridge", which is always enjoyable. Remember: No one falls to the bottom of ravines intact.

"Goth Girls" was next followed by "Charity Case". This would be a good time to remind you that you can pick up MC Frontalot's first album at a reasonable price.

"Nerdcore Rising" (complete as a crowd sing along with hand actions!) thrilled the crowd next. Truly a feel good song for all the nerds. The section of this tune that is filled by MC Hawking on the album was instead a funky bass solo. I also would like to point out that the head on Blak Lotuses bass was a 5.25 inch floppy disk. That makes any jam better in my book!

"This Old Man" rounded out the regular set. Once that tune was done, there was a discussion among the band members about how best to fool the crowd into thinking they were going to leave the stage and not come back for an encore. The drummer stayed put as a matter of alleviating any panic that might have spurred the crowd to rush the stage.

The encore consisted of "Gonna Be Your Man" and "I Heart Fags". G minor 7 made a Husker Du reference between these songs, which I certainly appreciated.

For those of you who missed the show, you missed a lyrical master at the top of his game, a nerd at one with his Commodore 64, a geek in synchronicity with Gary Gygax, a solid show by a really good band. May MC Frontalot continue to be the most fronting-est!

Here is another review of the Nerdcore Rising Tour.

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