Photo Credit Aaron Colussi
“Come close, come on, come close enough that I can steal your wallet. This first song is about killing people and selling drugs,” Astronautalis says with a disinterested frankness that belies the gravity of the statement he is making. Dressed in a white button-up and sporting neatly parted short blond hair, Astronautalis strikes a handsome figure on stage, and one gets the feeling that he leaves legions of admirers in each city concert hall or small town watering hole he performs. Judging by the glances between two young women near the front of the stage, that legion has just grown by two.
Then comes Astronautalis the man possessed, or, as a few friends and I decided, the Southern preacher speaking in tongues—eyes wide, veins in the neck popping, and a throaty bark that pushes the limits of rap—but, of course, he isn’t speaking gibberish and is instead delivering some of the most creative raps you’ll hear to a congregation of captivated fans. Diving headfirst into “Two Years Before the Mast,” a perfect song to start the night off replete with angry rhyming, obscure and haunting imagery, and a fuzzy beat accompanied by parlor piano and acoustic guitar, the song set the mood for the show and established the crazy energy that would be the norm, with a few worthwhile exceptions, for the next hour and a half.
“This song is about making out and voting…I hope you got to do both today.” I didn’t do either but laughed anyway. The song was “meet me here later,” no caps intended, a catchy song that captures the hopelessness and perversion of growing up, summarizing the inevitable corruption of youth with a chorus that sadly chants, “Meet me here later and we’ll make out.” The sound was good and Astronautalis, as always, was at the top of his game, filling the room with his commanding stage presence and taking the crowd on a journey through his own unique world where the trials and tribulations of youth and the movers and shakers of history intertwine seamlessly on the back of his story telling abilities. Astronautalis’ movements on stage are like a sort of controlled seizure, arms shaking, hands gesturing emphatically, and, given the energetic performance, it wasn’t long before the button-up was removed for the more sensible choice of a t-shirt.
Astronautalis took several shots of whiskey onstage, the beverage of choice for his music (listen to it and you will understand that it just feels…right), but that didn’t dull his acerbic wit. A proven master freestyler, Astronautalis takes a timeout from his shows to showcase his abilities in a tradition that has become legendary among his fans. He asks the audience for six things to freestyle about and then proceeds to shock and awe. To prove his freestyle is, well, freestyle, he lays down certain rules: he won’t freestyle about anything anyone else has ever freestyled about (e.g. cars, money, butts), won’t freestyle about anything he has ever freestyled about before, and he won’t freestyle about anything that will get him arrested. His explanation for this last stipulation is, unapologetically, “I’m a pussy.”
Tonight, the crowd offered him a selection typical of the randomness fans strive for in an effort to stump him: Shark bite, Danny Tanner vs. Uncle Jesse vs. Uncle Joey, Japanese horror films, Canada (the whole thing), sweater vests, and Josh Hamilton’s impending relapse. Rapping over a beat by Blackhead, who I’m not familiar with, Astronautalis freestyled for a good eight minutes or so, hitting all the topics and also touching upon Sports Center, dressing like a hipster, Upper Deck hologram baseball cards, Emilio Estevez, burning crosses, Brett Favre’s dick, sleeping on couches, and Charlie Sheen, to name a few. I cannot do this justice, so to see one of his freestyles in action there is always YouTube—or, better yet, one of his shows.
Having thoroughly wowed everyone the show continued, with Astronautalis hitting upon fan favorites and showcasing some new material. His new song with the working title “The Woods,” sounds extremely promising and features signature Astronautalis enigmatic imagery, soft muted keyboard, and an awesome beat. He took another break to tell a story about a summer he spent on his brother’s couch in Brooklyn and the captivated audience laughed along as he talked about witnessing an Acura in flames, jumping turnstiles, and being wooed with the prospect of “shooting hot bitches with water,” by two men trying to start a rapper boy band called “Two Tearz in a Bucket.” He declined. Fellow rapper Apathy did not.
Astro finished off his set with the crowd favorite “Trouble Hunters,” and then performed an encore where he showed off his part of a song featuring P.O.S. that will be on their upcoming collaborative EP. To cap it all off, he performed “Oceanwalk,” a song he proudly proclaims he wrote in his parents’ bathroom seven years ago.
The show was great and, as is often said about Astronautalis’ live performance, a completely different experience than his recorded material. The songs are heavier, more vivid, and more emotion packed when performed live—that is not to discredit his recorded material, though. While it is perhaps not a perfect analogy, it is something akin to apples and oranges-take your pick, they’re both good.
After the show, I saw Astronautalis stick around for a good half hour to talk to fans, hugging and chatting with them late into the night. I had to leave, but it looked like Astro was going to keep on hanging and being the cool, nice guy that he is. I’ll have an interview with him on rock nyc in the next day or so to talk with Astronautalis about his literary influences, getting busted by his mom for making out with girls in junior high, and where he stands on the Billy vs. Stephen Baldwin debate.
Here’s the set list:
Two Years Before the Mast
Meet me here later
The Wondersmith and His Sons
Auto-reverse Tape Deck
Mr. Blessington’s Imperialist Plot
My dinner with andy
FREESTYLE!!
The Woods
Brook
lyn Story Time (not a song, his tale of braving the streets of BK)
lyn Story Time (not a song, his tale of braving the streets of BK)
New untitled song from upcoming album
Trouble Hunters
Sample of forthcoming Astronautalis/P.O.S. collab
Oceanwalk