Seen hobnobbing

As both of my regular readers should know, this past weekend marked the inaugural show of MC Frontalot’s Nerdcore Rising tour in my native Spartanburg. The crowd was an odd mix of the punker kids there to see the openers and the nerd element of the Frontalot camp. Despite the uneasy truce between these two factions, Front and his cohorts had no trouble rocking the house to a level as yet unheard-of in civilized society. Even the skeptical hardcore aficionados were awe-struck by the by drumming prowess of Sturgenius, Blak Lotus’s funktastic bass stylings, and the grandeur that is the Gm7. You could see them, slightly doubled at the waist so as to avoid unnecessary attention, drawing ever closer to the stage to see the fellows do their thing.

Front, of course, bought his “A game” and dropped the lyrics not so much as if they were hot, but in a similar manner that one might drop an object he hurriedly picked up only to discover there was doodoo on it.

The set list was a mixture of old favorites and new jams. Crime Spree was preformed with much fervor, Simpsons samples in tact, and Special Delivery was succinctly delivered with all the passion expected of a heated protest song set to driving bass. Several exclusive tracks off Front’s Nerdcore Rising album reared their knobby heads. New jams Charity Case (hear it for free!) and Goth Girls delighted the nerdiest of those in attendance, while Song Fight! winners Floating Bridge and Yellow Lasers reminded us all why we showed up in the first place.

Nerdcore let itself be truly known as Front tossed Magic: The Gathering cards into the crowd before beginning Hassle: The Dorkening; even more nerd-worthy was Front reliance on a twenty-sided die to determine part of the set list -- a role of 7 or greater would mean Braggadocio while anything less would mean Which MC Was That?. Of course, Front easily made the throw (even without the addition of his +2 to rock modifier).

Front was outrageously cordial to all who approached him, including yours truly. As the capo of Front’s Spartanburg street team, I was more than a little disappointed by the attendance, but Frontalot assured me that the crowd was fine and thanked me graciously for the time and money I’d invested in making and spreading flyers. To that end he treated me (and my cohort Jeremy) to a free tour shirt in addition to the certificate of awesomeness mentioned on his site.

As if that weren’t enough, Frontalot even closed down the merch table early so he could answer a few questions for Hipster, Please! The ensuing interview is currently being transcribed and should be posted later this week.

After the experience, I humbly recommend that you make every effort to attend the nearest Nerdcore Rising club date. The show is phenomenal, and Frontalot himself is a delight to talk to. He makes no secret of just how much he appreciates all the nerdgirls and boys who come out to show support, and he rewards them well with a fine set and modestly priced merchandise.

Hey, if you are planning to check out Front in your hometown, why not sign on for the street team? You’ll be doing a great service for the nerdcore community and you’ll get a snazzy certificate suitable for framing. The street team is an important means by which you the fan can, to take a leaf from Frontalot’s book (not to mention the title track from his new disk and the stand-out from his Friday night set list), do your part to help nerdcore rise up.

Shit, he’ll even do an interview for your lame-ass blog if you ask nice!