, , and explored the outskirts of hip-hop with a young Denver crowd at the on Tuesday, touching on everything from hardcore-scremo to dubby bass beats.
Turner Jackson, an indie hip-hop artist and Denver native, stoked the small but angsty crowd early, bringing the energy and setting the tone for the following acts. The theatre was hardly half full, but the fans were dedicated and appreciative of Jackson’s short set.
See photos below of Danny Brown’s Denver show in February.
Hardcore grunge rock band Trash Talk stepped on stage second and threw a welcomed wrench into the hip-hop vibe of the show. They were different, and they knew it. “We’re here to open your minds to new music, give us a chance and we’ll show you what we can do,” lead singer (screamer?) Lee Speilman said between short but lively songs. Speilman was no stage clinger, as he performed mostly from the middle of the mosh-pit-heavy crowd.
Action Bronson started the headline duo with a long freestyle set to classic hip-hop jams, fueling the already high-energy and packed theater. His lyrics were clear and heavy-hitting, matching beautifully with the dubby backbeats that even the most die-hard electronic fan would appreciate. With references to retro sports and fine dining, the crowd knew (almost) every word. The bangers continued to roll with one-liner after one-liner while Bronson spit lyrics from the upper-level deck, taking hits from all substances as he passed.
Then, Danny Brown entered the stage and initiated chaos among the crowd with a short but intense freestyle, announcing his elation to be in the “state where you can smoke all of the blunts you want.” Following Bronson’s cue of snappy punch-lined lyrics to heavy hitting backbeats, Brown played hits from his last two albums, “Hybrid” (2010) and “XXX” (2012).
Brown had the crowd at his fingertips, singing his catch-phrases from “Adderall Admiral,” “Outer Space” and “Radio Song” — he even handed the mic off for fans in the crowd. “Blunts after blunts” brought a rolling wave of marijuana smoke into the theatre, where it lingered until well after the show. The rapper also gave the crowd a sneak peak of his new album which is due out on Oct. 8. Brown announced his last song and exited the stage before bowing to the crowd. While fans chanted for an encore, but Brown, being the punk he is, refused.
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Pop music blogger Laina Roberts is a Denver-based writer and new contributor to Reverb. Read more of her writing on and follow her on .
