Mally & The Sundance Kid – The Last Great… Release Party – 7th Street Entry 5/18/12

The night was a pure celebration of music – not fame and fortune.  I was an awkward witness of a wonderful scene.  I am of an age that I could be the dad of most of the audience.  A man with no real hip hop aesthetic beyond the contact high from my son pwelbs.  He turned me on to MaLLy,  a TC MC, who he added to one of his mix tapes in 2008.  I met MaLLy a few months ago at the Twin Cities Music Brunch and I was impressed by his combination of sincerity, hustle and grace.

I have never been to an album release party.  I felt like I tripped into a single generation family reunion.  The love in the room was palpable.  There was a true sense of joy at accomplishment of shipping the album.

The party was started and held together by DJ Jimmy2times who I found outstanding.

The opening act was 925ve who define the phrase don’t judge a book by its cover. Next was The Tribe and Big Cats who define the phrase “a hard act to follow.”

Finally the main event.  MaLLy stormed the stage to an adoring crowd and spit “The Last Greatest…” and a few items from “Free on the 15th.”  MaLLy gave an energetic performance, but I felt sonically the performance did not live up to the album.   I am not sure if that can be avoided in a bunker like the 7th Street Entry where the acoustics rival the decor for which is shittier. But overall the night was a big success: a full house, a celebration of a new release and a celebration of homemade hip-hop.  A genuine sense of fellowship and community filled the room.

As an old veteran of rock and roll shows I have not quite figured out hip hop – it sounds great on record but leaves me underwhelmed live.  I suppose my era’s singer/songwriter on a stool with a guitar would be equally baffling to the hip hop crowd as their MC and DJ is to me.

My son, who lives in Chicago, always helps me be aware of Minnesota nice.  A couple of anecdotes:

• The young man sitting next to me politely asked me if I minded marijuana smoke before sparking up – not wanting to invade my space.
• A drunk young woman wondered why a guy like me was a show like this (I think she was worried I was some kind of creep).  She was visibly relieved (and slightly impressed) when I explained MaLLy was a friend of my son and I was just there to show some support.