The Performing Arts: A reprise.

Last Sunday night I went to see Macklemore at the 7th St. Entry and was simply blown away by his performance, which was more of a celebration with the Minneapolis crowd than a one-sided affair. He was sick and he was tired but he feasted on the energy of that tiny room and gave one of the craziest performances he could.
The show triggered a few thoughts about both Macklemore and another artist - Dessa - who happens to be a badass twin cities emcee.

I'll start you off with Macklemore. I've seen him twice ever, and both times have been within the last year. Last May Macklemore came down the The Key in Northfield. There were a little over a hundred kids packed into a pretty tiny concert room. We charged $5 for entry and paid Macklemore and Ryan Lewis right around $300 for the evening. Both Ben and Ryan were so real. Probably some of the most real performers I've seen. They both worked together so smoothly and had such a great time up on stage, forcing the small, cramped audience to echo their enthusiasm. After the show the two stayed around for a good half hour just talking to the kids who were left at The Key. There were maybe 10 of us who stuck around till about 11 o'clock, just sitting around on the old couches and chatting. Finally as they were about to head out, we told them they had to come back again. They said "Next time we're in the Midwest on tour, we'll make sure we stop at The Key." Now, I'm not going to say that's a direct quote, but it's pretty close.
Well, this tour rolled around and the Key Booking Team contacted Macklemore's agent. SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS. I'm not going to say I'm upset that they blew up so quickly, but damn. That's a lot of money. Too much for a youth center in Northfield, Minnesota.  And I'm certain the group would be more than willing to play for less if they didn't have to go through the agent. Anyone want to lend the Key $6000? I promise we'll make a thousand of it back!
To say the least, I'm very glad that Macklemore was able to play the Key when he was less well-known. It's always cool to see groups that play there get big, because then we can say that we (The Key) were somehow a part of it. This was true with A.F.I., Cloud Cult, Heiruspecs, and now Macklemore. Everybody starts somewhere, yeah?
And then there was this past Sunday. On the last half of the 34-show tour, Macklemore was sick and tired and just wanted a Juicy Lucy, but He and Ryan Lewis and the rest of the group fed off of the crowds energy in the sold out venue, and the crowd in the sold out venue fed off of the energy of the performers. A true symbiotic relationship of hip hop, if you will. As the show moved on, the energy only kept increasing, and the whole time, Ben kept thanking the crowd, saying that it was "reminding me why I keep doing this shit." It just goes to show that no matter how big you get, and no matter what price tag accompanies a person's name tag, it's possible to stay real. This is why Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have the deepest of respect from me.

And now let me bring us back to the Minneapolis hip hop scene. Dessa: a member of the ever-growing, MTV-acclaimed group by the name of Doomtree; a goddess on the stage; and another legitimately real person. I wish I could say enough to come anywhere close to justifying what needs to be said about Dessa, but to make it real short, she's crazy-cool.
On stage, Dessa is simply hot. Now I'm a person who has spent much of my time trying to avoid the term 'hot'. But really, there's no other way to describe on-stage-Dessa. She's just got that hot vibe. She has the right voice, moves, glare, lyrics, delivery, two-plus outfit changes per set, and sure as hell the right pouty-lip-pucker-thing when performing. That being said, she, too, always has so much energy up on stage that it's impossible to dislike her music, no matter how hard you try. I'll never forget the night of her CD release for A Badly Broken Code. Not because it was my first 18+ show last January, and not because she surprised the crowd by bringing out the entire Doomtree crew for multiple sets, but because near the end of her show she called up two dancers and gave a quick explanation before cuing Papertiger to play the beat.
"We only had about ten hours to practice this, but we figured we'd do it anyway."
She and the two dancers (who happened to be large, bad-ass-looking men) then proceeded to bust out this crazy two minute long Latin dance piece (again, hot) that topped off the night so perfectly.
And again, not only is she a solid performer and artist, but she's also real. On the night of the Current's 40th birthday party I was standing in the audience watching some band I didn't know, anxiously awaiting both Dessa and Heiruspecs to come on later that evening. My attention was drawn away from the stage for a few brief moments, and who do I see standing not four feet in front of me but DESSA. She wasn't there just to perform and be looked at during her set. She was there to celebrate the 40 years of the Current, and to watch other artists up on that stage. Might I say again: so legit.

Moral of the story? If Dessa and Macklemore ever choose to do some sort of collaboration, I will be all over that in a heartbeat. And by that I mean: Dessa, Macklemore, please collaborate.

And as I try to do, here's some video of Macklemore's show last Sunday which I took, and a little bit of Dessa's gorgeous work. If you like their stuff, please go buy some of it!