Seattle Subsonic

Champagne Champagne Rises To The Top

March 3rd, 2009

So, my buddy and I headed down to Kirkland last Friday to catch a pretty attractive lineup of two Seattle rap outfits and one electro-rock beatmaker. Party-crashin’ hip—don’t call it ‘hipster’—hop trio Champagne Champagne was headlining the show, with the buzz-worthy Mad Rad taking their West Coast techno-glam-rap to the East Side, and C-Leb teamed with vocal stalwart Bee Simonds to round out the bill.

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I could be wrong, but I’m guessing this show was put together to appease the local handicap of Mad Rad, who’ve been shunned from most of the Seattle venues they’d been playing before an altercation with security at Neumos. It could’ve been an effort to widen the spread of the talents on the bill, I suppose, but the Lake Street Bar & Grill isn’t exactly a beacon for musical aptitude. Thankfully, it seemed the Turbos, Motorheads, and thick-necks were hanging out somewhere else. The venue was more club than grill, with black rubber floors, pool tables, a curtained-off “VIP” section, and your typical neon-mirrored bar with huge sports TVs. The stage and surrounding floor were more than adequately sized.

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This was the second time I’ve been bamboozled by one Champagne Champagne, meaning my anticipation of their show was well underbid, and I’m ready to boldly boast this here proclamation, people: Champagne Champagne is currently Seattle’s Best Hip Hop Band. I can hear the feathers ruffling. Granted, I was fully liquored up (more than usual) and swept up in the ridiculous party-vibe, but, man, DJ Gajamagic really lays down some tight tracks for his MCs: “Soda Pop Rocks” and “Cover Girl” are fluid, fly, and exceptional. Pearl Dragon and the Commish (aka Thomas Gray) know how to work the crowd and take their cues from power-duos like Outkast. PD even sounds a bit like André 3000—without the drawl—and has a tendency to get topless.

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Mad Rad has been dubbed the new wave of hip hop, and their debut White Gold lends credence to that claim. They don’t sound like the Beastie Boys, and they manage to weave some impressive club-music with their wacky, yo-yo sleaze rap. They did seem to be on their best behavior, though. When their antics got “out of hand”, it looked like P Smoov had to bite his tongue pretty hard in the midst of an ornery sound man who didn’t appreciate some of his equipment being lightly tossed around. They were good.

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C-Leb, minus his main-man A-Bro, opened the show with a bunch of tracks off his debut, Broke Downtown. The crowd was pretty sparse at that point, but he was able to pump some much needed energy into the place with impassioned vocals, upbeat techno-rock jams, a sidekick with a beautiful voice, and some surprisingly fantastic live harmonica playing. Keep an eye out for this guy.

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You can catch the esteemed Champagne Champagne this Friday on their way to Austin, as they headline a SXSW Send Off party at the Tractor, with Hey Marseilles and New Faces. You can also see lots more pictures of this show in our fancy-schmancy new Subsonic Photo Galleries.