NAP2010 Pre-Show and Day 1 OR WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Alas, another Nerdapalooza has come and gone, leaving fans and artists alike with horrible cases of Post Nerdapalooza Depression. There are floods of pictures being tagged on facebook and hopefully Datavortex is getting his always awesome footage ready for upload.

Sadly this year I was only able to attend Day 1 and the Pre-Show. That was really enough excitement for me.

There have already been some write-ups about the events of the past weekend, Geekdads Curtis and Z. always post great articles and you should check them out. But I am going to post an act by act write-up.

And here we go!

Pre-Show!

B-Type

Probably the farthest traveling attendee and performer B-Type (formerly MrB) opened up the preshow with several tracks from his new Album 'Shrugs' which I have reviewed previously. His set was pretty damn ace. Some of the tracks that I was not impressed with on the CD really shine during a live performance and got the crowd pumped and ready for a weekend of geekdom.

Magitek

I had never heard of Magitek before, I really should have checked them out before the preshow, damn real life. I was really surprised how great these guys were. Lots of high energy, wizard hats and rockin beats. If you haven't checked them out since NAP2010 you should really do so now.

MC Coolwhip

Anyone that attended the open mic last year knows MC Coolwhip. He is definitely a rising star in the scene and you will be hearing more about him later fo' shizzle. This guy...this guy...well he's already opened for Vanilla fucking Ice, had a track scheduled with Schaffer the Darklord (who sadly could not attend because of airline fuckups) and probably performed the best cover challenge track of the entire weekend.

You know you are doing something right when you can get a crowd of nerds to sing Spice Girls.

This set also involved a special appearance by one of my favorite artists. I will talk more about this dashing blue haired gent in my next post.

Kabuto the Python

The first Scrub Club act of the weekend was none other than the extraterrestrial reptile himself. Donning his Guy Fawkes mask he stepped onto the stage and rocked that shit proper. This year you could hear him clearly, thanks to some exacto knife work on the mask. His album Parseltongue has to be listened to, because it's fucking awesome.

The Megas

So what happens when you take MegaMan, mix it with all kinds of rock awesome, add some badass lyrics ranging from the avenging your fallen brothers to being completely useless as BubbleMan? Well you get The Megas! I was looking forward to these guys so much that I gave up my spot in the 20 minute bathroom line as soon as I heard The Annihilation of Monsteropolis. If a band is good enough for you to not pee, then they are doing something right.

Now by this time I was feeling pretty good thanks to a .50$ cup of ice, a pint of vodka and a NOS energy drink, it made the show FUCKING AMAZING! I got my picture with MegaRan, CoolWhip and I managed some decent shots of the performers. It really set the mood for the weekend, sadly no one told me about any after parties so I went to bed full of energy and didnt get to sleep until after 3:30.

Stay tuned for my write up of Day 1 of Nerdapalooza. It involves darklords, boobies, marijuana, and technical difficulties!

B-Type - Shrugs

Welcome to the first of what will hopefully be many album reviews.






B-Type is a Nerdcore rapper from the UK, organizer of Nerdapalooza UK and a cross dressing sailor scout.





This album, Shrugs, dropped just a few days ago, I was lucky enough to grab it via a "leak" that was quickly plugged. Popped on my headphones, opened up VLC and cranked the volume. Then I got worried.

Let me go ahead and say that any reviews I do will be done on an album by album basis, I'm not going to be comparing the album to other bands or relating them to other works done by the artist, each album will stand or fall on its own merits.

I was worried when I heard the first song because I was not impressed. The flow seemed off and the vocals didn't seem to match with the backing beat. Kind of a like someone playing their stereo in the back ground and recording a doing a remix video on youtube.

Thank all that is nerdy that was a fluke.

The album quickly makes up for the less than stellar opening with 10 more tracks, each better and smoother than the last. Songs ranging from being a vigilante, your iPod getting doused, trying out for team Xavier, there is even a fucking song referencing the awesomesauce Gargoyles cartoon. This album is that badass.

What really jumps out when listening to this album are the beats. I'm not sure who created these beats but they are amazing. Almost every track opens with a catchy 8bit intro that quickly breaks down into a rocking tune, A+ would jam out again.

The album is not perfect, there are 3 songs about being a superhero of some sort. Each song is great on its own but it seems a little redundant having them on the same album, especially considering that Join the X-Men and We are Superheroes are tracks 7 and 9 respectively.


Overall the album is solid. It is slow to start but by the end you just want more.
Grab it here!

Well there is my shitty first album review, stay tuned for more!

Nerdapalooza 2009!

Im back at my day job after having easily one of the best weekends of all fucking time.

I went to Nerdapalooza, a nerdcore centered music festival down in Orlando Florida, over 20 acts with 30 performers spread over two 12 hour periods. For clarities sake Im gonna go through each act chronologically.

Please note, Im not trying to diss anyone or disparage what they do, these are just my own personal views and preferences so if you get offended then you are taking yourself way too seriously.

Odd Austin

Wasnt really what I was expecting, I guess it was nerdcore since he talked about social networking, but I could kinda feel from the crowd that as an opener he was a little lack luster.

My Parents Favorite Music

So you have a guy with a green mohawk and beard, rhyming over Zelda lyrics about the harshness of life. These guys had so much energy and you could tell they really like what they do and just want to share it with people. I bought their album Testing the Waters, has barely left my CD player. Scope em on MySpace

Devo Spice

Very entertaining, I was talking to some merch people while he was on so I missed a few songs, very good rapper none the less.

Captain Dan

Rapping Pirates. Yep there is an extra p in there, not what you would expect, kind of against the grain :-P. Awesome lyrics and style. Talked with him and his wife several times through Saturday, very awesome people.

Marc with a C

Sadly another one that I missed, this time from eating. Protip: Dont plan on going anywhere for food in that tourist trap hell.

Listening to his stuff online, very good music and he is a local.

Scrub Club

This was an act I was NOT going to miss. They were the subject of much discussion the entire day, some were saying that they were the next up and coming group in nerdcore, this was important considering Mc Lars' blog about the death of nerdcore. Well guess who was right beside me in the front row...Mc Lars.

Fantastic flow, lyrics, beats, high energy rappers who were laying down mad fucking rhymes. Only complaint was that Kabuto (wearing a Guy Fawkes mask) was all but inaudible.

Are they the next big thing in nerdcore? I dont know but its going to be smart to check these guys out.

Spork and HDNinja

After Scrub Club I chilled towards the back to drink up the free Vitamin Water and cool off so I wasnt front row, but they sound was really tight and smooth.

Krondor Krew

I fully expected a battle between these guys and Captain Dan, why? They are fucking NINJAS!

Awesome costumes, though I wish I could have gotten better pictures. Fast hyped rhymes that just make you want to move.

Epic-1

Other than Hamstar and maybe Zealous1, Epic-1 was the best at free styling. I want able to get any videos of this but Im sure some will be posted on youtube very soon.

The Megas

Rock...Megaman, its like peanut butter and bananas. The sound seemed a little off though, it was a problem that was persistent with a lot of acts but with fast guitar and heavy drums it just made it more noticeable.

I Fight Dragons

One of the most hyped acts of the entire night, crazy sound equipment that was connected to a track and field pad, Nintendo powerpads and controllers...and I fucking missed it!

The hotel I was staying at had a 3am check in limit and I was really looking forward to some after parties. The hotel was .75 miles away...took me 45 minutes because of traffic on I-Drive, so pissed for real.

YTCracker, MC Lars & MC Frontalot

While technically 3 different acts, they each back one another up on several songs so there really wasnt a clear ending point between them.

I was lucky enough to see this Trio in Jacksonville last year, when I heard that Lars and YT were booked for Nerdapalooza I knew what to expect. And they destroyed the stage, in a good way.

YT with his hard lyrics and high energy were only diminished a little by his stage partner who was high as a kite and fucked up some lyrics.

MC Lars catchy Post Punk Laptop Rap had everyone moving their asses and screaming their lungs out.

MC Frontalot. Without him the genre wouldnt have a name. His rhymes and music range from the fast paced Tongue Clucking Grammarian to the chill yet disturbing Yellow Lasers. A very mellow end to the night musically, especially after YT and Lars.

Saturday came to an end, we were all tired, hungry, sweaty and pumped. I wound up eating at IHOP with MC Lars, DJ, Maja, Mike Rousso, Eric and Angel, great night, a crazy ass waitress and CPs galore. Took us 10 minutes to get seating, 45 to get our food, 20 to eat, 20 to escape, good times.

Got back to the Holiday Inn and headed upstairs, Eric and Angel had to part ways since they were only 20. I wasnt able to stay long, it was already approaching 5 in the morning and check out at my hotel was 11. Was able to catch some amazing free styling with MC Lars, Hamstar, Epic-1, Zealous1 and Maja.

I'll be posting the events from Sunday shortly, right now I gotta get some food.