REVIEW: Hit+Run SOUNDCRASH @ Echoplex

So the Hit + Run Crew are a screenprinting and art outfit that fuck with all the trippy electronic/hip-hop/beat shit we love so dearly (we have 84 posts tagged with that label so far...swag), and they put on a SWEET show at the Echoplex last week. They did free, live screenprinting in the venue:

their mobile screenprinting setup: multiple screens on a rotating base. photocredit patkins

and we showed up early enough for free t-shirts and Jonwayne (!!!) mixes. Patkins and I (as well as our friend Azad, the Dr. Gonzo to our Hunter S. Thompson) were in attendance. Here's my recap of the night, with relevant tracks interspersed throughout.
The night opened up with the Dirty Bandits. They were solid, and a welcome surprise given their status as a drums-bass-guitar-vox band at a show full of laptop artists. Go check out their facebook, they've posted some tunes there. I may do more research on them, they were quite good.

After them came none other than the savior of my weeknights from 8p-10p P.S.T., KCRW's own Garth Trinidad. He had some technical difficulties at first (he was going all vinyl, though, so we forgive him), but once he got going he played a set of really interesting, eclectic house tracks, followed by a solid hip-hop set, which the crowd really got into (he even played Wu-Tang). He's probably one of the most influential music promoters in my life, as he provided my homework soundtrack for the entirety of senior year, and if you're ever listening to the radio late at night, during his show or not, tune into KCRW. Their late-night DJ's play really awesome shit, stuff you never hear on radio.
Then after his set, they announced that Blu, arguably one of the bigger names on the bill (and the explanation for why this was such a die-hard hip-hop crowd) would not be showing up. The crowd was visibly displeased, but most of them stuck around as far as I could tell.
Though the next act was hardly straight-forward hip-hop...Mono/Poly makes some fucked up shit. He has a very FlyLo-esque blend of trip-hop, dubstep, and jazz elements in his work, resulting in these incredibly trippy, heavy productions that boggle and delight. He's actually on FlyLo's label, Brainfeeder, and you should get his recent EP, Manifestations, HERE. One of my favorite joints of the year so far, from one of the scene's most underrated producers (imo).

Glow - Mono/Poly
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Then, again shifting the focus from laptops and mixers to good old-fashioned instruments, Sun Araw played a set of hypnotic, layered, noise-drenched psychedelia. It was a bit loud for patkins, Azad, and much of the crowd, but I got really into it (it helped that I had been making psychedelic noise music with a friend lately, so I was sort of already in the mindset). Go check them out, I really dug them and will DEFINITELY be researching them, probably with a post in mind.

Crete - Sun Araw [Right-click/Save-as]
(( from their upcoming LP, Ancient Romans, on Sun Ark Records. WE TRIPPY ))

Phreax - Sun Araw & Matthewdavid

(( a collab track with Matthewdavid, who DESTROYED Low End Theory last night. This one's a bit more improvised and freeform than the stuff they played at the Echoplex, but it's still quite reminiscent of their sound...and TRIPPY ))

Suddenly we switched technology AGAIN, this time to Jonwayne and his mighty little SP-404. He took that little metal box and brought the fucking house down, launching bomb after bomb at us from his arsenal of neck-snapping, heavy, swagger-up-the-wazoo beats. This being my second time seeing him, I can now safely say he's one of my favorite beat scene artists to see live, he just destroyed the crowd and had the MOST ridiculous energy. He dropped a mixture of his own absurdly awesome productions, and even FREESTYLED (see photo below).

Read Velvet - Jonwayne

(( from his elusive beat tape, Doodles ))

and other huge bombs by such producers as Samiyam:

Cushion - Samiyam

(( from his debut LP, Sam Baker's Album, which I am on the verge of purchasing from Brainfeeder ))

and one of our blog favorites, Zeroh:

Shit's This Easy - Zeroh

(( from More Throwaways, which you can get for free HERE. One of the weirdest beats I've ever heard, but it DESTROYS on a proper system ))

the man freestyles. photocredit patkins

Anyways, Jonwayne is the shit. Get Bowser now from Alpha Pup, you will NOT regret that purchase.

Then another guy had volunteered to take Blu's spot, but we decided to dip. Also missed Elos, unfortunately, but we'd already had quite the night. One of the more eclectic shows I've been to, and I had a complete and utter blast at it. Really awesome music, solid crowd, plus I got a badass T-shirt and mix CD (by Jonwayne himself, which you can buy HERE if you'd like to just get the distilled atmosphere of this concert in one mix).

Support Hit + Run HERE, or by liking them on Facebook! I certainly did, after that tight of a show. Keep yr eyes open, they do shit around LA all the time.

-Lobster out!