MC Lars Concert Impression by Antisocial

Last weekend, my pal Antisocial got a chance to see MC Lars perform in the very large and boisterous state of Texas. He was nice enough to write up a little show review for those of us unable to attend. Did Lars bring his A-game? Did Soc dig it? Was there beer? Read on to find out!

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Dear Z, faithful readers of Hipster, please!, and loyal Nerdcore scene kiddies,

I have had the pleasure of attending an MC Lars show. Here is how it went:

The doors opened at around 6pm, so my brother (aka MC Localhost, aka Phil Ridlen) and I ( Antisocial aka Mark Ridlen), ended up there at around 7. The venue was Fat Daddy's Sound Shack (or something to that effect), and it was built in an old movie theater. It made a very good venue and could hold quite a few people. There were around 200 people at this particular show... of all ages, as it was an all ages show. We arrived to hear the very last guitar pickings of a local emo band. Up next was some horrible local ska band that we managed to survive. After that was Patent Pending , a band that performed with Lars later. I must say, Patent Pending is the wildest band I've ever seen perform. For the final song, they invited the audience up on the stage for a mosh-tastic finale (see grainy phone pictures ). There must have been more people on stage than off. It was quite unusual. After this, MC Lars began to set up, so Phil and I decided it was safe to venture up close to the stage. His setup was simple and elegant: a laptop (a MacBook Pro , I believe), a digital projector, and a screen for said projector. Basically, instead of using backup tracks, he used backup movies. A very novel concept, and it worked out very well. I apologize that I didn't memorize the track order, but I have tried to piece it together as best I can.

Following an epic intro movie, he kicked off his set with one of my personal favorites, " Space Game ," and surprised me with a freestyle-style additional verse at the end, as well as the "Rock and Roll Robot" message that played on the screen during DJ Hal's guitar solo (DJ Hal is closely related to DJ CPU , for those who are not aware). Next he played another great song, the Jay-Z referencing, Tetris sampling " 21 Concepts (but a hit ain't one) ." He followed Tetris samples with the amazing Super Mario Bros. infused remix of " Straight Outta Stockholm ," which was quite possibly the high point of the show. Very fitting considering he wore Nintendo boxers. You honestly have to hear this track to believe it. It made me feel giddy like a 12 year-old. He made sure to play the RIAA bashing " Download This Song ," which featured vocals from Bowling for Soup's Jaret Reddick , and plenty of "la la la la la la la la" from the audience. The classic " Signing Emo " was performed, with help from the audience on the screamo "DIEEEEEEEEEE!" vocals. Somewhere in his set, he made sure to include " Generic Crunk Rap ," which is another of my personal favorites, and once again got plenty of help from the audience for the crunk vocals. " Mr. Raven ," the song based on the classic Edgar Allen Poe poem , was a great hit with the crowd. At the end of his set, he performed his smash hit " iGeneration ," which was certainly a crowd pleaser, and yet another of my personal favorites. He included viral video from the Internet, and asked the audience to cheer whenever we recognized something we'd seen. Finally, he took down his laptop and projector, and brought Patent Pending back on stage. I knew immediately that " Hot Topic Is Not Punk Rock " was about to be played, so Phil and I took to the high ground to avoid another mosh pit. Sure enough, there was.

We stuck around for the next band, Suburban Legends , a ska outfit that put on a very good show complete with synchronized dance moves. Phil and I were very tired, so we left towards the end of the set. We went to the merch table and tried to talk to Lars over the loud ska that filled the air, and we both purchased a CD (a good deal at 10 bucks). He was a very friendly guy, as expected, and he mentioned he will be going back on tour in April. I'll be there if I can, Lars!

Link to pictures

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I live in the boonies. As such, I don't get out to as many choice geek gigs as I should. Thankfully, Hipster, please! has a (very) small, (ridiculously) dedicated group of readers who tend to be a bit more advantageously located than little ol' me. Soc, for example, is always nice enough to hit me up post-show to let me know how things went down, and I truly appreciate it. If any of the rest of you has a ticket so hot its burning a hole in your pocket and a solid grasp of the English language, feel free to hit me up with your own concert impressions. I'll gladly reward you with... uh... my sincerest thanks for your trouble.