It was may have been a hip hop show at Fortune Sound Club with Doomtree in the house, but the aggressive crowd of youngsters on the floor had the eager unruliness of a teenage punk show. Don’t believe me? I have the slightly sprained thumb to prove it. No big deal.
However Doomtree, the rapping collective out of Minneapolis, IS a big deal to the underground hip hop fans who know you don’t need to be pop culture trivia to be extremely talented. So much love in fact that to everyone’s amusement, a man shouted out for the lone female member, Dessa, asking to father her children. While her tomboy sex appeal is apparent, no doubt a large percentage of the attraction is the on-stage charisma and poetic intelligence she projects and that is clearly evident in all seven members. Well, six. I can’t speak for Sims; he didn’t make it across that notorious Canada / USA border. I trust he would be on par with the rest though.
When the buzz created by opener Sapient was waning and the kids were ready for another pick me up, producers Laser Beak and Paper Tiger took to the stage to whet our appetite and build the suspense in the room to the max. Putting Laser Beak’s solo work of Lava Bangers on showcase, he riled up the party posse in Fortune with a super sick intro. His killer live drums welcomed the rest of the crew onto the stage: Mike Mictlan, Cecil Otter, P.O.S. and Dessa.
A No Kings symbol was drawn boldly with duct tape onto the glowing circle in the club wall and, like a full moon, it seemed to draw the tide of people close. It was uncomfortably close in those first few rows, but entirely worth the view. As the symbol promised, Doomtree unleashed much of their most recent album on the night; The Grand Experiment had us dancing a storm and No Way had the people rocking out with guts and gusto. The ecstatic crowd shouted along with, “Doomtree Bangarang, all these rappers sound the same. Beats – sound the same! Raps – sound them same! Wings – fan the flames! Teeth – with the fangs! 10 years in a lane, Doomtree Bangarang” To be quite honest, I still don’t know what a Bangarang is, but I had the chant down pat nonetheless and it’s currently going round and round in my head as I type.
In Doomtree we have found something pretty awesome. It is a hard hitting brand of alternative hip hop, infused with a spirited punk rock-ish vibe that sends you into a tizzy like a teenager. If you don’t let the adrenaline overtake you and listen closely, they also speak in lyrics that could make the poets and philosophers out there envious. They kept the play list on shuffle at Fortune; a throw back to 2008′s Purexed by member P.O.S and Dessa’s solo Dixon’s Girl with it’s slinky and seductive waltz that, believe it or not, inspired a short lived but awesome crowd surf. The club may have seen larger crowds for sure, but the energy in there was never less than at absolute maximum capacity.
The Doomtree high came to a crazy peak during the last song as the right side of the crowd rushed in and ran over some of us in the middle (owwwww, there goes my thumb!) and for a moment I wondered if we would all implode into a mini mosh. Thankfully, we did not. Instead, I regained my footing and beat the guaranteed onslaught of peeps to the merchandize table; it was time to seriously stock up on some Doomtree (and Sapient!), as fast as possible. I suggest you do too!
Review by: Lauren Dallas | Photos by: Michael Caswell
SCENE IN THE DARK EXCLUSIVE SHOW CONTENT
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