Although the Friday PAX East impromptu karaoke party was truly awesome, I was a little peeved that I had missed MC Frontalot's show that very same night. My buddy Jon has been a huge fan of Frontalot for several years, and was also peeved that I'd passed up the chance to see him live in Boston. So when he found out that MC Frontalot would be passing through OKC, Jon let me know that this was something I shouldn't miss. At the risk of inflating his ego, Jon was spot on.
The show opened with a solo performance from Brandon Patton AKA BL4k Lotus. Normally the bass player for Frontalot's band, his opening act was inspired. Kicking off with an acoustic cover of Paula Abdul's "Straight Up", he immediately commanded the attention of the audience. All of Brandon's songs were intensely personal, and he performed them with a sincerity that allowed us to enjoy this little window into his life.
Next up was the nerdcore improv rap group The Doppelgangstas. Normally working under the name Twinprov, Buck and Clint Vrazel become The Doppelgangstas when joined by beat mistress Dr. Spach. It's sort of like when the Megazord combines with the Dragonzord to become the MegaDragonZord on Power Rangers. As improv artists, the duo made good use of the audience for the majority of their act. The tight improv rapping that ensued was most impressive, even if they did mishear my suggestion of "cupcakes" as "earthquakes" as a means by which the world ends. :P The brothers were augmented by the tracks provided by Dr. Spach, making for a complete nerdcore audio assault.
Finally MC Frontalot took the stage, and after a few songs revealed that he was quite sick. Frontalot had strep throat, and had briefly considered cancelling his performance that night. Never the less, he endured and ended up putting on a fantastic set. His songs were catchy and this rhymes were deft as hell. As much as Frontalot brought his best, his band of keyboardist Gminor7, the before-mentioned bassist Bl4k Lotus, and drummer The SturGENiUS deserve just as much praise for their adept performance. As someone who was largely unfamiliar with Frontalot's work, this small and intimate venue was the perfect place to see MC Frontalot and company for the first time. I had spotted Frontalot around PAX East despite missing his show, and it was refreshing to see how approachable and accessible he is. The confortably confined spaces of The Conservatory only enhanced this and after the show he stuck around and interacted with his fans, ignoring the sickness that was visibly and rapidly draining him.
After the show, my buddy loaned me the entirety of MC Frontalot's discography to listen to during my drive home. Since the concert, I've found that while "Final Boss" was my favorite album as a whole, "Living At the Corner of Dude and Catastrophe" is definitely my favorite song. What's even more awesome is that the live version was as good or better than the production track, which is truly a testament to MC Frontalot and his band as live musicians. I have been converted. I have been made into a fan, and there's no turning back now.
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