Ugly Duckling

I attended the Ugly Duckling show this last thursday at Brittania Arms in Cupertino. At the last minute, my friend Raph saw of flyer of theirs and called me up about the show. However, there was no info about it on the UD website, and the place they were supposed to perform at was a yuppy bar in the suburbs. Little did I know, that yuppy bar is apparently the new hotspot for hip-hop in the south bay (criminy, GZA's gonna perform there in a month!!).

UD's set consisted of songs mostly from their new album Bang for the Buck, and their last album before that Taste the Secret. Up until the show, I wasn't familiar with those at all, my familiarity having ended with their great album Journey to Anywhere. DJ Young Einstein bounced around behind the turntables as he orchestrated a set of slammin' beats. Non-stop, the party beats just kept coming. Andy Cooper, 6'7" MC, had to hunch a bit so his head wouldn't hit the ceiling, but he was flawless on the mic. Something about Dizzy Dustin's flow didn't come off as well live as recorded, but his charisma and interplay with the crowd was great.

Dizzy Dustin dressed up like a typical G-Unit-esque thug for their song about violent boneheads, "Mr. Tough Guy". Ironically, it was during this song that two boneheads in the crowd started fighting. Unfortunately, I missed out on the action and could only listen as it happened because I was in the bathroom for the third time throwing up the bad burrito that I had eaten before the show.

Also of note, the opening acts were both rather enjoyable. Having gone to many local hip-hop shows when I was an annoying opening act, I have a history of hating how pretentious and untalented most local underground hip-hop is. However, the first opener, Trademark, was an incredibly tight instrumental funk band. Their drummer was able to drum and play bass at the same time!!!!!!! For the life of me I can't remember the 2nd act's name, but he was an enjoyable enough MC, modest and energetic, with a really meek looking DJ.