my favorite mutiny

the coup played at the casbah down here in sd last night. despite having the j5 show to go to tonight, i went to this one as well. i saw the coup sometime back during my sophomore year at cal, but i didn't know who they were then. i picked up their newest album pick a bigger weapon, mostly because it was being hyped by okayplayer a lot. i really like the new album.

anyway, info said the concert started at 9. i didn't know if anyone was opening and decided to get there around 9. as i was walking up to the spot, i see boots (lead mc of the group ... i recognized his huge afro) hanging outside. a few minutes later, he gets in a van with some other guys (who i later find out are the band behind him) and drive off. the venue isn't even open yet despite doors supposed to be open at 830. i end up talking to some other guy in line.

eventually, we get in ... and no one is there. some local sd group called the kneehighs performed. they were decent but nothing special; although, i suppose the fact that there were only 10-15 people inside at the time may have contributed to that. people are slowly starting to trickle in. group called big spiders played. i wasn't feeling them much. after a bit of a delay, iselyfe performs. he's been touring with the coup for the past few weeks. the place is still relatively empty, but he manages to get the crowd hyped. i'm thinking, this guy did a good job upping the energy for the coup.

it's too bad that the coup didn't get on stage for another hour or so, and the energy died. while waiting for the coup to show up, emilio (the guy i was talking to in line and for most of the night until now) decided to go outside. we end up sitting down outside next iselyfe and chatting with him a bit about ... music, politics, apathy in san diego, etc. as we're talking, we see boots and the band roll up. the band goes in and sets up their stuff. meanwhile, boots joins our conversation for a bit, then gets his game face on and starts preparing himself for the show. we end up following him in the side entrance, which is right next to the stage. he hops on stage and we move to the front. since we've been outside, the crowd has grown to a good size and they've all moved to the front of the stage.

these guys put on an awesome show. they did a good job managing the energy level of the crowd. they'd get things hyped, then bring it down a bit for one of their slower songs, then take up a few notches again. boots was rocking out on stage and the band was jamming. they did some of the older stuff, which i wasn't familiar with, and most of the tracks off their newest album.

after the show, i talked to boots a bit more. i decided to pick up one of their older albums party music. outside, i chatted with some of the band members before heading home. really good show ... and it's always nice when the artists are chill enough to hang out and talk with some fans.

next up tonight: j5 ... i know this show is going to be good. i've seen em four times already and they never disappoint. unfortunately, it looks like i'm going to be rolling solo to this show too.