Shinobi Ninja are a fabulous hip hop/punk band.
We have written about them many times and always glowingly.
Until today.
The last time I saw them, at Mercury Lounge and one of the best concerts of the year, Baby G and DA, managed to travel between their interactive, MCing schtick and hard rocking focus on the music with ease. This time they didn’t.
Last night they didn’t. Theoritically a release party for a Baby G EP not available at the concert, it was, as Baby G noted, a typical Shinobi concert.
Only it wasn’t.
It descended into well worn schtick in a blink of an eye. Who’s fooling who when Baby G asks for two women audience members to sing “Na Na” with her and pulls out two friends. Her and DA shout out to friends, “is this one in the house”, “is that one in the house”? Really, do I care?
Later they crowd the stage, women only, for one song. They interrupt songs to act like blowhards.We are not here to watch the MCs congratulate themselves, they are not at the point of their career where they can rest on their core constituency. Shinobi Ninjas must give 100% to move forward.
The band are awesome when they shut up and sing. On “Slow Warning”, a near perfect song, they have a series of mini movements till an extended jam at the end with DJ Axis scratching to the guitar not the bass and a mirror ball coming down. Great stuff. “Stop!”, DA introduces it as a punk rock song, is a breathtaking roar and the blues break takes on added depth.
This is a really really terrific band but…?
Baby Girl needs to stop this egocentric nonsense and DA needs to stop one upping her, and the rest of the band, who are just fantastic, needs to reign them in and get right back to the music.
This isn’t the Blue Man Group.
I am not here to watch em pal around.
If you are the greatest live band in NYC stop fucking around and act like it.