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ACL review: Bavu Blakes
When Austin mayor Will Wynn introduced hometown hip-hop hero Bavu Blakes as his friend to the scattered audience in front of the Austin Ventures stage, the response was fairly lethargic.
But a few songs after Blakes removed the Obama mask he’d taken the stage with, the crowd was into it. As listeners steadily arrived and the space in front of the stage became more and more limited, Blakes got the crowd waving their hands and responding to his calls in unison with phrases like “Black gold!”
The audience had good reason to be excited. Whether Blakes’ backup band, the Extra Plairs, were churning out soulful R&B grooves or booming bass lines under Blakes’ rapid-fire rhymes, they were on.
Once Blakes gained momentum, he didn’t let it drop. Both his music and witty banter between songs kept the audience engaged.
“Like I said, I’m not much of a singer, but unfortunately R.E.M. couldn’t make it today,” he said before playing a segment of the chorus from “It’s the End of the World As We Know It” to start his next song.
When Blakes left the stage, the crowd was still cheering.
“I’ve never seen him before, but I’m glad I did,” said one listener. “It was definitely worth coming over from the Fratellis.”
Photo: Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN
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Permalink | | Categories: ACL 2008: Saturday, ACL Festival
