Grand Analog w/ Miles Jones @ The Drake Underground 01/23/10
The tag line for last Saturday’s low-end movement at The Drake Underground could have been “He’s the DJ, I’m the rapper, and this is my band”, as two crews with similar designs for their disparate hip hop expressions teamed up for a tight little showcase in the cozy bowels of the landmark Queen west hotspot.
Up first was local rhymesmith Miles Jones, who took on the formidable task of trying to warm up a Toronto crowd with ample lyrical dexterity and ranging musicality, backed by a stripped-down musician troupe featuring only a drummer and cohort beatmaker DJ Serious on the decks this time out. With the back-beat pushed to the front by the indispensible live rhythm section, static spectators were eventually coaxed into relinquishing their holding pattern at the room’s fifty yard line and making their way to the front of the stage, just in time to catch bumpin’ electro-tinged closer “Runaway”.
The title track from Jones’ sophomore disc Runaway Jones served as a fitting entrée for main course Grand Analog, who wasted no time in setting the wheels of their hi-tuned dub-rap machine in motioned. With newly added drummer Aaron Edgar in tow, GA rattled walls with their animated sound collage of pointed guitars, smooth bass lines, effects laden cuts and warm analog keys, all held together by the presence and charismatic flare of frontman Odario Williams. The by then packed house gave as well as it got, mouthing the words to tunes like “Not Enough Mondays” and responding enthusiastically to quirky turns like the sneaky infusion of Jackson 5 bass licks. Though relatively brief, the night’s expo – GA’s lone Toronto stop on their current cross-Canada tour – proved the perfect start to a busy Saturday night in the T-dot, and no doubt a welcomed bonanza for the double-booked Drake underground.
(Shouts to my man henri and King Britt, who held it down with an expansive blend of both past and future sounds well into the wee hours.)
Previous: Miles Jones – “Never Too Late” (rmx) ft. Classified