Picnic Fire Benefit
Concert Review: Sunday, December 3, at the Double Wide
4.December.2006

Dallas producer/MC S1 couldn't hide his tears from the bright stage spotlight. A few songs into his group Strange Fruit Project's Sunday night set, he and fellow MC Myth stopped the beat to thank the crowd and speak about the evening in general, an act that might provoke a boo or a "get this shit going" cat-call at another hip-hop show.

But this wasn't just any hip-hop show; in an overwhelming show of artistic and financial support, over a dozen musical acts and nearly $3,000 poured into the Double Wide to help PPT producer/MC Picnic rebuild his life after an apartment fire left the Plano musician without equipment, master tapes, clothes and much, much more. The tragic loss struck S1 hard just on the basis of losing beats and equipment alone, but it was his recognition of the love, friendship and family that came together at the benefit that proved too much for the performer to bear.

Of course, if he'd been brought to tears by the high quality of the show, that would've been understandable. Through my years of local music fandom, I've never attended a better hip-hop show--local or national. Not a slouch could be found in the crowd, a serious surprise given the few no-names that were scattered on the otherwise headliner-heavy lineup. Of those no-names, Pestilence was the most memorable, as his opening set kicked the show off with the kind of agitated flow that would make Tribe's Phife Dawg shirk away in fear--add his name to the list of this city's best MCs after you watch his video clip below.

The usual quality suspects rolled through with their respective mike mastery--Chucky Sly, Steve Austin, Verbal Seed and Money Waters understood the difference between standing on the stage and owning it with showy, entertaining performances. In particular, the Boondox (featuring Headkrack) annhilated the crowd with their four-man attack, which was particularly good because they overcame an overlong delay to win the crowd back. James IV wasn't as lucky, forced to restart a track three times, but the newcomer held his own with enough charisma to back up his many MC boasts.


Pikahsso performs at the Picnic Fire Benefit (Sam Machkovech)

Quality neo-soul was in the house as well, thanks to relative newcomers Thesis and S'Ence flooring the crowd and earning some of the loudest cheers of the night. The slight edge was Thesis', whose ability to hit amazing notes without any excessive, American Idol-style vocal bending was boosted by witty stage banter and an out-of-left-field rap attack in the middle of her last track. But if we're talking about crowd volume, nobody moved the room more than the man who moved more than anyone else, PPT's very own Pikahsso. Dancing, strutting, shaking and twisting, Dallas' self-proclaimed weirdest performer had the crowd laughing and cheering before he nearly danced himself into a coma. "I think I'm gonna pass out," he wheezed after the incredibly odd and memorable "She Put Blood In My Spaghetti," and the crowd just about carried him off the stage, either to save him or to celebrate him.

The night was closed out by Waco/Dallas collective Strange Fruit Project and Fort Worth rock act Black Tie Dynasty, the latter of whom's bass-thumping Brit-Pop kept a decent number of the hip-hop heads in the room to stick around a few minutes longer (though I understood why more than a few cleared out--their sudden spike in volume compared to the hip-hop set was an instant headache). And thanks to BTD's appearance, a good number of rock fans got to experience local hip-hop in easily the best way possible; with so many performers, the sets were cut short, forcing every MC and singer to bring their best to the stage and keeping the show's momentum high from set to set. Double Wide booking agent Chelsea Callahan couldn't hide her excitement: "I've already talked to half of the acts about performing here again. I can't believe how good tonight has been."

In a night-ending spiel from yours truly (as I hosted and embarrassed myself for most of the night), I was forced to disagree with Callahan, telling the crowd that I really could believe how good the night was. Picnic's loss resulted in the last-minute benefit, something thrown together so hastily that most of us in the organizational side expected the worst. But a huge, loud crowd, an amazing lineup, few glitches and a lot of money were nothing compared to the true impact of the night--tangible proof that Dallas hip-hop has finally, really, truly arrived. And dammit, that brought a tear to my eye.


Videos:
Pestilence
Chucky Sly
Thesis
Money Waters
Pikahsso