By: Amber Schadewald
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E & A - Photo from www.eyedeaandabilities.com
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After three years of separation, the lyricist and turntablist duo, Eyedea and Abilities did nothing but impress as they reunited on stage. An obvious powerhouse of skills, E&A had me trembling with excitement to the point where I actually giggled aloud in response to the incredible amount of energy they were sending into the crowd. From the first words Eyedea spit on the mic, you could hear the anticipation that had been building up over the last few years. A gruff yet adolescent quality in his voice, Eyedea was like a kid bursting with a Lassie-worthy story. “It’s been a very long time,” he said, grinning from ear to ear.
During the set, remnants of Atmosphere’s influence on Eyedea were audible through his rhyme styles, and any suburbanite with their eyes closed may have been confused as to who was really on stage. Eyedea covered the stage, living the words he delivered with his entire body. Shaking, jumping and clawing at the air with his hands, Eyedea’s lyrics wove stories to the fairly crowded floor.
Behind the tables, DJ Abilities sound was, for lack of a better term, beautiful. Making beats from chopping and scratching the face off other beats, Abilities filled the room with a storm of variation; thunderous bass vibrated the floor and psychedelic screams bit my ears hard. In between scratches, I caught Abilities rubbing his hands together, preparing to create another masterpiece in sound— the audience roared immediately after his fingers left the tables and some praised him in the “I’m not worthy” wave.
The highlight of the show was when E&A invited another local musician, Chris, and a well-respected voice percussionist, Carnage, to the stage. Unplanned and unrehearsed, the foursome freestyled for a good 40 minutes and defined, for me, the meaning of real, quality hip-hop. I was completely in awe of the pure goodness that oozed from these four individuals as they combined their skills into one tight product. There were moments when it was difficult to distinguish if the DJ’s tables were creating the beats, or if they were coming from Carnage’s mouth. Eyedea and Chris took turns rapping back and forth, even adding some singing, bits of reggae and meaningful messages. I had to stop and take a deep breath.
E&A finished the show playing older material in a remixed fashion, turning some into more spoken word and others into crazy dance hits. Eyedea commented on the strange flashback he felt while playing the songs from a few years back.
“It’s similar to looking back at photos of myself at age 17,” he said. “Looking back at specific moments in my past.”
The show ended with a one-song encore (since the group had gone over their time limit by 25 minutes already). With the lights down low, Eyedea became a silhouette, shaking his head in a frantic and schizophrenic whirl, screaming his raps, burning his vocal chords into a smoky finish. DJ Abilities , of course, amazed with another solo and in general, left people in a stage of stupor and awe. The guy in front of me summed it up best when he said, “Thank god they’re back together.”
Location Info:
First Avenue
Artist Info: Eyedea and Abilities
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