When Kid Sister announced this show on her Facebook, we hadn’t even heard about it, but snagged tickets online the same day because intuition was just shouting that it would be a fun time. Kid Sister–aka Melisa Young–and Flosstradamus–J2K (Josh Young) and Autobot (Curt Cameruci): are you kidding us? Our expectation for the show could not have been more accurate!

Detroit Bar isn’t a huge venue in terms of space, but it’s big enough and the vibe there the whole night was awesome. We arrived early: before the place had even really filled-up, and it was still entertaining to start the night by listening to good music as the TV screens played clips from the 80’s. Not much time passed before the place was packed and everyone was dancing.

This was the best show that we’ve been to in months. It’s not purely about the music, of course, but it’s also about the crowd. Not only were the performances great, but everyone at the event was pretty chill. You know those times you’ve found yourself out and there’s some belligerent drunk guy trying to start beef with you over nothing, or when everyone’s so hung-up on looking cool that they are kind of awkward and don’t even seem like they’re really having a good time? Well, this night was the opposite. Most everyone seemed like they were just busting loose and enjoying themselves. For that reason it was a memorable night. Check out the video below and see how part of how wild things got for yourselves.

Okay, so you may have noticed the annoying feedback in the series of clips. Oh well, just like love, shows aren’t perfect. Kid Sister handled it in a breezy way though, and honestly, the energy during the show was so intense with everyone all hyped-up by the performance that it wasn’t all that noticeable.

The show was also covered by the OC Weekly crew. See their fantastic coverage at ocweekly.com.

Four words come to mind when remembering this night: what a great show! Everyone’s performance was spectacular. Our camera batteries died before Ghostface came on–what a bummer–but we managed to get some great photos of the event. The vibe was excellent at Canes Bar & Grill in San Diego. If you’ve never been, it’s really an awesome venue: spacious, great sound system, and right on the beach! Of course, we stayed inside for all of the lovely music that the night had to offer.

First was Buff1. Man, we said it before and we’ll say it again: Buff1 is the closest we’ve heard to Jay Dee from an emcee. Ever. Not only that, the live energy coming from this guy was just thrilling and he kept his performance interactive for the crowd which always makes things more interesting. Much love Buff1! Be on the lookout for big things from Buff1 as he has a Crown Royale project forthcoming with DJ Rhettmatic, who kept it real at the event as well.

Performing with Buff1 was producer 14KT. DJ for the night 14KT made no mistakes on the ones and twos for the evening, but what else would you expect from a member of the Lab Techs? They don’t play. With such an ear for music, 14KT setup every track just right for Buff1 to kill it with his flows. If you don’t already know, 14KT, Buff1 and Mayer Hawthorne have been friends for many years now, which you could tell from how well they worked together on stage. We got to meet 14KT as well, and he too was super friendly and made us feel right at home, even though we were in the presence of such an amazing producer. That’s always nice to see.

Ah yes. Then there was Mayer Hawthorne. We’ve got Mayer’s record, A Strange Arrangement on the car iPod and man we love bumping that record in the whip. Mayer Hawthorne’s show was on par with the studio quality of his album, if not better! Before the show we were thinking maybe after such a long tour Mayer and his voice would be a little worn-out, but far from it. Plus, on the interludes between tracks, Hawthorne made charismatic and funny remarks, which blended nicely with the performance. Watch out for Mayer Hawthorne, as he’s currently touring in Europe, and is scheduled to perform at a New Year’s Eve show in Vegas with John Mayer. So, it’s definitely going to be a very Mayer new year.

We’ve got nothing but love for A-Side Worldwide and Stones Throw Records and appreciate the talented artists they’ve found.

Enjoy all eye candy below!

Walking into the Echo Curio, you can immediately tell you’re in for an intimate night at the venue. Rumored to be the place where people “first wore skinny jeans, and all the hipsters came to hang out in LA, way before everyone started wearing skinny jeans.” Although, we don’t know if there’s any truth to that, so best to check Wikipedia!

First we heard the comedy of the night’s host, Joshua Meyers, which was hilarious. We really had no idea as far as what to expect from the comedians. You know Dave Chappelle, Ricky Gervais, Larry David and Eddie Murphy are some of our favorite comedians, and we generally have a pretty high bar for what’s funny, but the comedy was definitely enjoyable for the night! Plus, we had never been to an event that has comedy mixed with music, but the event kept us engaged the whole night.

Samuel Stewart was our favorite musician of the night, but all that we heard from the other musicians was also good. Fu, short for Fuquan, was our favorite comedian, although everyone made several funny jokes in their acts. We actually got to chat a bit with Fu before his show and he was good dude, willing to talk to us about whatever, and agreed to get in a few photos. So, we might be biased by that, but Fu is also straight hilarious, which you’ll see for yourself if you watch his video below.

Going to this show didn’t have the feel of going to your typical show. Everyone behind throwing the show, as well as the people attending it, were all super friendly and cool. It’s not always that you go to a show and feel like you could strike up a conversation with anyone, but the vibe at the Echo Curio was all warm and fuzzy that night, and not at all snobby and exclusive. Wait, nobody slipped ecstasy in our drinks at the show, right? Wait, it was a BYOB event, so never mind. It was a fun night beginning to end though and there was nothing not to like.

One thing that’s amazing about Samuel Stewart’s music is his raw talent as a musician. We can’t help but think about the whole “fruit doesn’t far that fall from the tree,” idea, given that his father is Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics. Naturally, Sam is going his own direction with his music, but right away we were struck by sheer musical ability from him, and the professional caliber of his music. Lots of people want to be musicians, but some people don’t just have it in them. Even for famous musicians, there’s a struggle in waffling on the quality of your work, perfectionism, self-doubt, etc., but we believe Samuel Stewart should be bypassing all of that (even if he might not be) because it’s clear that he has put a lot of hard work into his tracks and has a passion for the music he makes.

We’re probably also biased towards Samuel Stewart because we think the Eurythmics made such fantastic music: our favorite track being, “Here Comes the Rain Again,” although we learned at the show from Sam’s Manager, Angela, that “Sweet Dreams, is in fact, the most popular Eurythmics track of all time. It makes sense with the Marilyn Manson cover and all, but our favorite here is still “Here Comes the Rain Again.”

At any rate, we’re reasonably satisfied with how the audio came out in the videos below, but it was just too dark (among other recording issues) in too much of the clips. Remind us to shine bright lights on all performing artists we record in the future. Video drama aside, the show was still great fun and it’s too bad if you missed it!

Buff1 & 14KT join Mayer Hawthorne & The County on a 25 city North American Tour this September/October

August 25th, 2009 – Los Angeles, CA – Accomplished emcee Buff1, accompanied by veteran producer 14KT on the turntables, will join Mayer Hawthorne and The County on the Lonely Hearts Club Tour this Fall. Having worked together for years as members of the Ann Arbor supergroup, Athletic Mic League, Buff1, 14KT and Mayer Hawthorne (aka DJ Haircut) have built a brotherly chemistry that’s unmistakable whether at the crib, in the studio or on stage. Every group intends for its members individual solo careers to lead to increased opportunities for the whole team, but only a chosen few truly make it happen. Expect Buff1 and 14KT’s explosive performance on this 25 city tour to be the perfect compliment to Mayer Hawthorne’s silky soul.

9/10 Los Angeles, CA – The Roxy
9/13 San Luis Obispo, CA – Downtown Brew
9/14 Fresno, CA – Starline
9/15 San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop
9/16 Santa Cruz, CA – Catalyst-Atrium
9/18 Portland, OR – MusicFest NW
9/19 Eugene, OR – WOW Hall
9/21 Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Court
9/23 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
9/24 Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room
9/25 Chicago, IL – Dark Room
9/26 Ann Arbor, MI – Blind Pig
9/27 Toronto, ONT – Drake Hotel
9/29 Boston, MA – Great Scott
9/30 Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brendas
10/1 Brooklyn, NY – The Knitting Factory
10/2 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
10/4 Washington DC – DC9
10/5 Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506
10/6 Atlanta, GA – Drunken Unicorn
10/7 Orlando, FL – The Social
10/9 New Orleans, LA – Parish @ HOB
10/10 Austin, TX – Red 7
10/14 Scottsdale, AZ – Chasers
10/15 San Diego, CA – Canes

asideworldwide.com
myspace.com/buff1der
myspace.com/14ktz

For bio, interviews or other press inquiries contact:

Stephanie Estes
Martin Smith

For artist management inquiries contact:

Jeff Klein