No abstract left field hip hop shit next FOR YOU!  photo by Jimmy Giambrone

Aesop Rock did a one-off show here in Philly this past Tuesday at the Trocadero.  The place was packed, Yak Ballz and Gray Skull did some wicka-wickas, and things got funky.  I’ve seen Ace four times and last night was probably his tighest set, front to back.   The addition of DJ Big Wiz was huge–he brings alot to the table(s), pun intended.  Rob Sonic is good in small doses, though I wish Mr. Lif was Aesop’s hype man–the two have better chemistry (back when they played the First Unitarian Church on the Bazooka Tooth tou)r and compliment each other’s music, gestures, and physical appearance.  Lif did come on stage (he lives in Philly now) after the encore performance of “No Regrets” to do some off the headsshizz. 

Aesop’s set relied heavily on cuts from his last album, the hella dope None Shall Pass.  I saw him last September when that tour began.  It’s great to see a performer fine tune a set after a while–Tuesday’s set had a better order of songs, more crowd participation, a great DJ solo set from Big Wiz, and some surprise songs from his catalogue (“Big Bang” from Float was completely unexpected–it took me back to my college days, waiting for weeks for HipHopSite.com to re-stock copies of the album, then devouring every word of that record with Nico for a year).  Plus, did “Daylight” and “Nightlight” back to back.  Seven years later, and people still go apeshit for that song (myself included). 

You can check out photos from the Trenton Terror, Mr. Jimmy Giambrone, over at 215hiphop.com’s photo gallery.