5/27/05
Casa Verde
I got to the show, and the juke box was playing, artists were gathered around and talking. I approached Melissa from Mind Over Matter Promotions and asked her what the hold-up was with the show. She said they were waiting for DJ Tommy to show up and he was already an hour late. She politely excused herself to go talk to the performers. More people started coming in and ordering drinks at the bar. Security for the night, Rob and Joe were very nice and polite. There was a couple of small arguments between a couple of performers, but those were settled immediately. The owner of Casa Verde seemed to be very helpful with Melissa with what she needed. I pulled Melissa aside for a bit to talk to her. I asked her why the show still hadn't started and she replied, "DJ Tommy is no where to be found. We've called his house and we've called the club he works for to see if he was there. They said he wasn't scheduled to be there tonight, but would try to get a hold of him, and if they couldn't, they would send one of their DJ's here for us because this looks bad on them. But they haven't even called back."
One of the performer's cousins came out and handed Melissa the phone, and she stepped away. She came back up after a few minutes and thanked the woman, and went to announce that a DJ was on the way.
The Orlandis Band had shown up late, and wanted to set up and play and leave. An obviously-tired Melissa said that was fine, as she was waiting for the DJ to show up so the other performers could perform. The Orlandis Band set up quickly and started playing. They set the mood of the crowd quickly with their mellow tunes. I looked around and saw couples hugging each other and kissing, reminiscent of a romantic Dean Martin movie.
Local artist, SubConsuz, said, "This group is awesome. They have mellowed out these kids that were getting feisty, and now, everyone is in love."
The mood lasted for a few songs, and then The Orlandis Band came at us with some hip-hop beats with a funk twist on it, and the crowd followed suit with the mood. The crowd was jumping, even another artist got on stage and free-styled with the lead singer of The Orlandis Band.
By the last song from The Orlandis Band, Melissa was walking in announcing "THE DJ IS HERE!" and The Orlandis Band announced it over the mic as well.
DJ Pain, who "saved the night," as Melissa put it, set up his tools of the trade, and got to work on getting the crowd amped for the next performers. Kid Lyrical and his group were next up on stage and gave some head- thumping beats and performances that had hands in the air and even the two rock-and-roll-loving security guys, Rob and Joe, were at the door watching and bobbing their heads. After their first song, I saw Melissa come inside with a look of disgust on her face, and she went and got the mic from one of the performers and announced that she was "just informed that Myth and Universal will NOT be performing. Apparently Myth has a head-ache and isn't feeling the show, so he and Universal have left." Melissa gave a heart-felt apology to the crowd and encouraged them to enjoy the rest of the show.
After the announcement, Kid Lyrical's people gave even more heart and had the crowd into the music with devious beats and amazing lyrics. EP Soldiaz were last to perform, and they have a style all their own. Chris took the mic and spilled words from his mouth so fast he would make Bizzy Bone's mouth drop. Mando got on the mic and let out mind-numbing rhymes that are just incomparable. The two together have a sound that could hypnotize anyone. In their performance, though the crowd had dwindled, they still had fun.
Mando motioning to empty seats to get up to the stage and the crowd laughed. They said their thanks in their last song for everyone coming out, and that ended the show.
I was able to talk to Melissa before she drove off and asked her if there was anything that could have been better about the night.
"Well, I'm tired, so I'm going to say these few things and leave if you don't mind. I should have known better than to hire a DJ who thinks he is the hottest thing since hot fudge sundaes because he works at Club Medusa and spins with Johnny Cage. He's young, about 17 and doesn't have his priorities in order. I don't know what to say about Myth. I think it was crap that he couldn't tell me himself he had a 'headache' and had Universal tell me. But overall, we had a good turnout. I'm a little mad that Myth brought in more people for free then he originally agreed to. I'm very mad he backed out like this but could still go sit in a car with loud bass and listen to beats from FlipCyide. But, you live and learn, and maybe this will be an eye opener for anyone who thinks they are bigger than someone else. There is always someone bigger. I appreciate everyone who came out tonight, DJ Pain saved the night, and Big Ed, the owner here, SAVED my show. I will definitely be bringing more people and shows here. He was awesome tonight. To everyone who performed, I thank them a lot. It really was a good show, a good turnout on such short notice. You have a good night and drive safe, it's wet out there." And with that, Melissa climbed into the truck with one of the security guys and waved as they drove off. In my opinion, the show was good, could have been better, but it was what it was. People were upset that Myth and Universal backed out right before they were to perform, but the rest of the performers handled it smoothly and kept the crowd happy. Melissa kept her composure, even though things were taking unexpected turns. She is a great promoter and does what she can to keep the musicians happy. All the musicians tonight did a great job. I should have asked Melissa about Metafisix and Anadote who were also scheduled to perform, but were not here tonight. But, there will be a next time.
~ Darnell
