I have to agree with Eric, last’s night’s Kool Keith show was a bit underwhelming. But really, that’s kind of what I expected going in to it. I‘ve listened to Dr. Octagonecologyst more than any other rap record, and Sex Style is not far behind in the tally, but honestly I haven’t dug much of Keith’s output from the last 10 years. Still, I love those two records wholeheartedly, and will take any opportunity to see Keith be a weirdo for my enjoyment. In that respect, he didn’t let me down one bit.

Keith was late getting to the stage, and the crowd began to get restless. I was standing up front next to the stairwell that goes backstage, and I overheard the security guy talking about how Keith was not only in the building yet, he hadn’t been there all day. He then went on to talk about how he worked an in-store at Tower Records some years ago and Keith didn’t show up on time for that either; they eventually found him in the Lusty Lady. My real treat of the night was catching a glimpse of Keith before he went on stage, blocking himself from the crowd behind the doorway. He was thumbing though a porno magazine, occasionally pointing at a pair of breasts and discussing them with a cohort. The knowledge that Keith’s pornography obsession is not just stage talk but real life was somehow reaffirming and strangely comforting.

The show started with a lot of tracks I’d never heard, but I was psyched when he busted out his rap from an old Sway and King Tech mix. Chanting along to “Girl Let Me Touch You There” and “Sex Style” was pure fun, but it was his weird rants that really made the night worth it for me. These same rants were probably maligned by most of the crowd, as Keith would spend 5 minutes plus jabbering about how in the future “We’re all going to have sex with robots” instead of playing any music (My friend Noah who drove down from Bellingham for the show sent me a text at this point saying, "Yo, fuck Kool Keith."). His manager was standing next to me, frantically spinning his finger in the air at Kutmasta Kurt, trying to get him to start some music and get Keith back on track. Instead, Kurt looked the manager right in the eye and stepped away from his turntables, letting Keith continue his rant. Eventually Keith went into a career-spanning medley, and though I did want to hear “Halfsharkalligatorhalfman,” I wanted to hear the whole track, not just the chorus. As far as a show goes, it was hardly a great performance, but essentially I got all I needed from the experience — the opportunity to hear someone say "There's a horse in the hospital" into a microphone and the pleasure of seeing one of the weirdest men alive in his element.