The Outmastering Of Mix Master Mike

By all available information prior to the event, the show at the Middle East's downstairs space should have been Mix Master Mike's gig. He was headlining, after all, coming to the stage at 11:30p.m. After the event's undercards, Rahzel and Choclair, had rhymed the crowd to a fevered pitch. He also has a new album out on Asphodel Records, Eye of the Cyklops. Add to that the fact that a good part of the audience had turned out to see the Beastie Boy's DJ on the basis of association alone. Maybe 60 percent of the audience comprised wannabe B-boys hoping for a solid dose of the "Flute Loop."

But the Mix Master found himself substantially upstaged by the self proclaimed Godfather of Noyze, Rahzel, the human beat box of Philadelphia's legendary Roots crew. Fresh off the release of his millennial album, Make the Music 2000, Rahzel's performance made modern technology, and DJs like Mike, look purely superfluous. Who needs turntables, after all, when you've got someone who can loop James Brown and scratch KRS-One's "Step Into a World" with his mouth and a microphone? And why limit yourself to music? In addition to crowd pandering chants like "Where my weed smokers at?" Rahzel's act was punctuated with electronica-mimicking interludes (many of which are on the album). Not one to end on a down note, Rahzel finished his solo set with a Matrix-inspired skit that set up his truly impressive "If Your Mother Only Knew"-appropriately dedicated to Bobby McFerrin's son. Yes, the beat and the chorus at the same time.

The Fourth Beastie's set was not unimpressive. Much to the dismay of the assembled mass, he stayed clear of Beastie Boys standards, opting instead for more obscure tracks that pleased the crowd at the back of the room, Boston MCs Akrobatik and Mr. Liff among them. Mike's hyperactive mix-and-scratch made things more difficult, allowing for little more time than "Oh I've heard that" before moving on to the next record.

Long before closing time, the Mix Master ceded his set to a freestyle free-for-all that proved to be a second highlight. Canadian MC Choclair, blatantly pushing all things Toronto in his Raptors jersey, offered some quality pro-Canadian rhymes over Black Rob's "Like Whoa," and Rahzel continued to amaze, though his freestyle abilities are clearly an order of magnitude weaker than his skills as the human beat box.

MIX MASTER MIKE

at

The Middle East

April 19

at

The Middle East

April 19