Tomorrow Never Knows Festival, Day 4 Preview
By Lizz Kannenberg in Arts & Entertainment on Jan 18, 2008 6:10PM
Crazy wild lineup for the Saturday installment of the Tomorrow Never Knows festival at Schubas. Let's take a look, shall we?
White Williams is the current hip hop-electro indie wunderkind, and perhaps the blogosphere's favorite young son since Beirut's Zach Condon. While his recent tourmates Girl Talk and Dan Deacon are relatively over-the-top in their use of pop culture touchpoints, Williams is far more minimalist in his influences. They're impeccable nonetheless, and Williams has more or less earned the hype that precedes him with a dancetastic live show.
MP3: White Williams - Fleetwood Crack
Cadence Weapon = Canadian hip hop. What, you say? Independent music from our northerly neighbors that doesn't involve a spritely siren with a cute haircut and a closet full of skinny jeans? It's true, and journo-cum-rapper Rollie Pemberton's deeply underground lyrics and booming synth beats are a grimey declaration that Canadian hip hop is more than just Cannuck Crunk.
MP3: Cadence Weapon - In Search of the Youth Crew
Ohmega Watts has the coolest name in underground hip hop, and it allowed him to have a cheeky album title like Watts Happening. Luckily, dude backs up the flare with some of the highest-level hip hop to be produced in America in a decade. 'Phat' doesn't begin to describe Watts' beats, and his heady lyrics are reminiscent of Western Europe socio-political rap.
MP3: Ohmega Watts - Found
Baltimore's Ecstatic Sunshine is sparse, experimental surf-punk speed metal played by a couple of sweet-faced youngsters. Sounds intense, but it's as light and fluffy as those genres get. You'll probably dance.
MP3: Ecstatic Sunshine - Little Dipper Big Dipper
Ghostman & Sandman don't need sunshine, they'll knock you out with straight up soupy surf. It's less abrasive than, say, Man or Astroman, but still possesses that hypnotic rhythm that Dick Dale pioneered...filtered through a haze of modern day indie leanings.