Seattle Subsonic

CHBP Sunday: THEESatisfaction

July 30th, 2010

Prior to last weekend, I was merely a casual fan of the jazzercised bohemian musings of local eccentri-rappers THEESatisfaction. I’d listened to their LP Snowmotion several times, heard a few other .mp3′s, read countless internet accolades, and even copped out on a few of their shows. It never quite grabbed me. Their fractured take on the hip and the hop was weird and cool, yet without teeth sharp enough to cut into my consciousness. I certainly appreciated their unique, pro-everything au courant feminist stance and all the bizzaro business they were loopin’ into their “challenging” records. But it never quite grabbed me. With their Saturday set at Neumos, I had the perfect chance to hear the hype (indeed, their live shows have been given great reviews), and I would make a more informed decision. Trouble was, pretty much everyone else had the same idea. Neumos was straight packed; couldn’t see shit. With the place feeling like a crusty, alcohol soaked sauna, me and my trusty CHBP companion hit the exit. We found a handful of spill-overs drinking and bobbing their heads on the sidewalk on 10th Avenue. The sound was good, so we decided to stay too.

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Over the next 20 or 30 minutes, my view of the divergent dating duo totally transformed. The beats hit hard, the keys and the horns wafted wearily, and the voices floated out the door like two visionary banshees sending their queer and quirky message across the space-time continuum. There were rim-rattlers and crowd-pleasers. Thought-provokers and dance numbers. I was impressed. So impressed, in fact, that we made a point to hit up their Caffè Vita Bean Room performance for KEXP the next day (excellent show space, btw). They played 4 songs for Street Sounds, and the crowd was ample, if not overstuffed. There was free coffee and this new tune from the ladies they call Cat and Stasia. It’s called “Do You Have The Time?” and has a Roots-y feel-good vibe with some dope (-smokin’) overtones. Color me converted.
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