Hangar 18 resounds as Higher Ground reaches higher level

Author: Hans Manzke

I really like underground hip-hop. Let it be known far and wide. This is due largely to one of the top three underground labels - Definitive Jux. This indie label provides a constantly growing and evolving forum for a staggeringly wide array of hip-hop, from Cannibal Ox's real-world painting with a dark, dirty brush, to Cage's enervating battle raps, to Mr. Lif's incisive, political and laconic observations on everyday American life. As one of the freshest new acts to sign to Def Jux, Hangar 18 represents a new breed of the underground, one that strikes a compromise between the bump and flow of the over-inflated, idiotically corporate rap mainstream, and the sometimes inaccessible, obfuscated hip-hop underground. When I saw they were coming to the newly relocated and renovated Higher Ground, I called up my fellow hip-hop head Ari Joseph '05. Neither of us really knew what to expect, either of the venue or the talent we knew would be there, so we decided to do what everyone should in the case of the revamped venue: - go and see for yourself.

So it was with much merry tomfoolery that Ari and I sallied forth to South Burlington last Sunday night. We got there 30 minutes after the show was scheduled to start, and entered the stage to see four people watching One Be Low, aka One Man Army of underground luminaries Binary Star and another half dozen or so people hugging the bar. One Be Low theme-rapped his way through a short but mind-blowing set that needed to be heard to be fully appreciated. Throughout Lo's performance, one of the Hangar 18 emcees, WindnBreeze, manned the merch table himself - the most obvious sign that the recent Definitive Jux signees have not broken through yet. The upside to this was that we got to talk to the guy. For me, it was surreal to meet and converse with this voice you've heard blasting from speakers on a shiny, new LP released by the freshest hip-hop label around.

This sense was supported when WindnBreeze and fellow Hangar emcee Alaska took the stage to DJ Big Whiz's bottom-heavy, humid beats, welcoming a seemingly unsure crowd of ... drum roll ... 15 people. If there ever was an injustice in the world of live hip-hop, this was it. WindnBreeze and Alaska laid down a truly superlative set, even abandoning the stage for the dance floor, putting themselves inches from the crowd. The duo rapped themselves into oblivion with a cathartic, self-deprecating style that truly drew the listener into their world. Their subject matter was a mixture of the vicissitude and hilarity of everyday life and sharply honed, overt political commentary. In that arena, Hangar 18 bites into the current administration much like Eminem does in his recent work. But where Eminem beats the listener over the head with a dissenting sledgehammer, the Hangar emcees cut with a scalpel. They were precise and deliciously oblique in their observations: there were no massive choruses linking Bush to the Antichrist. With 50-foot long mic cords, the two galloped around the floor, working themselves and the crowd into a frenzy that was only relieved at the end of the show, when Alaska threw an apple through the air 50 feet into Windnbreeze's open mouth. Multitalented.

It's a bit of a different experience when the artists stand at eye level with you, when you slap palms with them as they walk by. I could not have been more into the show myself, but any lack on impartiality on my part was rectified by Ari's simple formulation after the show: "That was dope." Yes. Yes it was.

Higher Ground itself is a worthy venue for the talent it plans on bringing to South Burlington. Fellow Hangar 18 Def Jux labelmate Aesop Rock will be there in late March, while Jedi Mind Tricks and J Live make an appearance on April 7. The hip-hop bill is completed by Handsome Boy Modeling School, a collaboration of Del the Funky Homosapien and Gorillaz producer Dan the Automator and former De La Soul producer Prince Paul, who will take over the modest stage on April 15.

Displaying its diversity, Higher Ground will also present recent Middlebury visitees Ratatat on March 3 and retro bliss-rockers Of Montreal on the same day as the Handsome Boy Modeling School extravaganza. On the way back from the Hangar 18 concert, Ari noted that Higher Ground was an "ambitious club." This is true for several reasons. First there's a truly eclectic and uncompromisingly non-mainstream talent lineup. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this except for the fact that Higher Ground is located in a town of 30-40 thousand, not three or four million. Drawing consistently sufficient crowds to their shows could prove challenging. The Hangar concert was a case in point. Granted, their move from Winooski to their current location allows the club to draw larger crowds because of the population concentration. However, the issue remains, and it will be interesting to see how it resolves itself in the future.

The large college community in Burlington and here in Middlebury as well should be loath to not lend support to such positive musical ambition. While it does not draw the big stadium names lots of lovers of the mainstream look for, we can now enjoy the caliber of artists you used to have to go to Boston or New York for, just 45 minutes from our back door.