Last Night: Notion, Know Choice at Chop Suey

Notion, courtesy of Nikolaj Lasbo

Who: Notion, Know Choice, Frankie Starr & Marlon Turner, Marcus D. & Justice, Beebop N Rocksteady
Where: Chop Suey
When: Sunday, October 26

I showed up to Chop Suey last night and got a big old surprise: the line-up was almost completely different than the one I came for. To add insult to injury, I was at the venue by myself, with a dead cell phone, lurking in the back and scribbling shit down, which made me look...hopefully like a journalist, but probably more like a weirdo. And because I'm not drinking any alcohol at present, I didn't even have that old crutch to fall back on. Fortunately, last night's show was the first all-ages shindig I'd attended at Chop Suey, so I wasn't alone. Basically, the U-district invaded the joint. It was also the first time I'd had my bag checked there, and the most uptight I've ever seen the employees (but considering how draconian the liquor board rules are up here, I can't say I blame 'em.) The new line-up, in chronological order:

Beebop N Rocksteady- Seattle, here's your Gym Class Heroes. If you're into that pop punk + hip hop thing. I'm not, really, but I was okay with it until they got to the super-cheesy break-up songs about girls, which basically sounded like New Found Glory trying to kick off a rap career (listen to "Broken Record" on their MySpace and you'll see what I'm saying). Seriously, I've never heard hip hop sound so, uh, "emo." I hate using that word, but you know what I mean. I liked the party jams a lot better than the sappy pop punk break-up songs, which reminded me all too much of being 13 and listening to a whole fuckload of Greenday (and they're not even a bad band...or at least, they weren't.) Also, I think one of the emcees said he was Geo's (of the Blue Scholars) cousin.

Marcus D. & Justice- Marcus D. is the emcee, Justice the DJ. Marcus D. is a teenager, at least if his rhymes ring true. For his age, he's pretty darn good and has already made quite a bit of progress in the writing department. Plus, he mixes up his cadences. And he's obviously motivated; most of the songs he performed (in a really short set) were about being on the grind. Watch out for this guy; you may soon be seeing a lot more of him.

Frankie Starr & Marlon Turner- Though the name of this act may suggest that there were two people in this group, there were, in fact, nine people packed onto Chop Suey's small stage. Four emcees, two guitarists, one bass player, one drummer, and one DJ. Whoa. Unfortunately, it was hard to hear the band very well (the drums drowned everyone else out pretty effectively), and the rhymes were hard to decipher also; I might have to chalk it up to sound issues and the fact that it's hard to understand four dudes when they're all rhyming at once.

Know Choice- I saw this dude before at the Asian Hip Hop Summit. He's a pretty good emcee, and his beats are solid (he had DJ Rise with him, I believe, unless I heard wrong), but his most important asset is probably stage presence. At one point, he did this little softshoe dance step up there that was just fuckin' adorable. He touted himself as the most "positive" emcee in town, too, and I might be able to buy that. Dude just looked so damn HAPPY. Oh, and Akrish joined him for a couple of numbers, too.

Notion- If it hadn't been for a hearty endorsement from a new friend, I probably would've left sometime around Frankie Starr, or perhaps during Know Choice (I like the guy, but dammit, I was planning on seeing Wizdom and the Let Go, who were both originally on this bill.) But Notion, with his playful style and personal openness, reminded me of a young Atmosphere's humble beginnings; you know, well before Lucy Ford and the systematic exorcism of every last personal demon, the result of which has been some mediocre recordings of late. Also, remember how I said the U-district had taken over the place? When Notion (a student himself) asked his crowd how many of them had class tomorrow, most of 'em cheered. And a whole mess of them were girls. See? He's totally got the Atmosphere thing going on.