The night started off great, LMNO & Kev Brown got to the venue to make sure sound check went great, and it did. LD set up his tables and DJ Orator was there to start off the night. There was a good vibe in the air, kind of like a family reunion or when you see old friends you haven't seen in a while. Mike Nardone was chatting it up with Kev, Kev was chatting it up with Orator, everyone was in great spirits.
Doors opened at about 8:30pm. Thanks to LRG we had 50 gift bags full of LRG shirts, towels, lighters, pencils, CDs and more to give away and the people were psyched. Needless to say, people were getting their monies worth just by walking through the door. Thanks to Albert and Ryan for the hook up!
Kev Brown was the first performer and his start is constantly rising. His debut album I Do What I Do is now a classic, his collaboration with LMNO Selective Hearing is full of bangers, and Kev just released Random Joints independently - INCREDIBLE. Kev's performance was sick. A mix of old, new and unheard joints, accompanied by his laid back swagger mixed, in with the subtle comedian in him made for a memorable performance. He was my friends favorite.
Near the end of Kev's performance I started to panic. DJ Babu was up next and he was nowhere to be found. Running all over the place I found him outside with a huge crew which consisted of Rhettmatic, J.Rocc, Declaime, MED, 2Mex, Dannu, Deeskee, Dubs-One and more. What an entrance, right? Well, Babu knew what was up, HIM! So, he b-lined toward the stage and immediately played banger after banger, Dilated Junkie style. The crowd was going nuts.
Who knows Dudley Perkins? If you don't, let me tell you, he is quite a character.
Me: "Uhhh, you ready Dudley? You're supposed to be on"
Dudley: "Naw, let me smoke this, give me five minutes"
Five minutes later, I walk into the green room and he has his sunglasses on with a huge grin nodding his head, he is ready. To be honest, I didn't catch too much of Dudley's performance because I was making sure LMNO knew what time he was going on and we were both making sure the show was going well. But from what I heard and from what I saw through pictures and video, I don't even need to worry about it.
By this time, the venue was packed. I really didn't know how it happened so quickly, but it was like I blinked and hundreds of people were drunk, dancing, hands in the air...you know the drill. Lots of family and friends I haven't seen in a while were there and it was a good feeling having everyone under one roof.
Our legendary host Mike Nardone did an incredible job on the mic. With over 20 years experience under his belt he knew every little thing about every performer and proceeded to school the crowd on background information I didn't even know of. With a huge smile and one of the most recognizable laughs in radio, it was an honor to have Mike host our show.
J.Rocc needs no introduction. He's been waving the Dilla flag for so long you know he's going to play some exclusives and the hits. Amazing. Something about his style, the way he nods his head, gets the crowd involved...J is the best DJ alive and he controlled the crowd like no other.
DJ Rhettmatic made his way to the stage and hyped up the crowd with Mike Nardone and the two went back and forth talking about the history of J.Rocc, LMNO and their history as individuals. It was a special moment with so much family and friends altogether sharing this night. Finally, Rhett and Mike introduced LMNO together, and it was on.
If you've ever seen an LMNO set, you know he's got some hits under his belt. LMNO rifled through his set with so much energy and emotion, even though I've seen him a million times, it felt like he was floating for this one. Performing new tracks off his album like "Just Want You" and "Creation Of The Gun" was incredible - you can feel the beats on those tracks in your heart. To cap it off, Kev Brown made his way to the stage and performed "James Brown" with LMNO to a crowd that was going crazy!
With the night over, I thought about the events of that night, and it was apparent. Besides having a lot of people there, those people had fun, and that's all that mattered.
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