[ATTENDED: March 26, 2022] Oxymorrons
My son C. has been a big fan of grandson for a while now. I knew that we’d be seeing him whenever he came to town. This was also his first exposure to Union Transfer, so I thought it would be super fun for both of us. And it was, but it wasn’t as I expected.
After getting forced to the back for girl in red, I thought we’d want to arrive earlier. But I also knew that this show hadn’t sold out so I imagined we could stroll in at 7:30 and get right up front (there were two opening bands after all). But when we walked in, the merch line was ENORMOUS (and slow) and the room was already a little full.
Well, we waited for mech (good decision) and heard Oxymorrons start their set. We walked in during “Think Big” and, even though it was crowded all the way to the back, I found my favorite spot stage right was open, so we slunk our way to that corner and were within a reasonably close distance from the stage. Sweet.
Meanwhile, Oxymorrons were on stage ripping it up.
They finished “Think Big” and moved into “Green Vision.” On stage were four guys, Demi “Deee” and his brother Kami “KI,” doing vocals. In the back was drummer Matty Mayz, and off to the side was guitarist bassist Jafe Paulino.
No bass, but Paulino’s sound was massive! He played heavy riffs and soloed over the top (he even played behind his head). Mayz was fierce behind the kit.
But the stars were clearly Deee and Kl. They rapped, powerfully and with fluidity, and when they got to the chorus, they sang and screamed and kicked everything up more than it had been. The intensity … and fun…. were palpable.
In between songs Deee and Kl joked with the audience and each other. Apparently someone was throwing dollars bills on stage and Deee joked that the last time someone did that he got a taco. Throw a few more up and he’ll add guac. Kl joked that he felt like Cardi B when people threw money at him.
Introducing Django, Deee said that he pronounces the D, even though he knows he’s not supposed to. But do you know why? Because it’s his damn song and he can do what he wants.
Upon seeing that there were not one, but two birthday celebrators in the audience, they said they’d sing, but did we want the Black Happy Birthday or the white Happy Birthday. After demonstrating the two, everyone resoundingly chose the Black version. But when people failed to sing along he chided, “you don’t have to be black to sing it that way.”
After playing “Pretty People,” they told us about the origin of their name. They were thinking about names and thought that Oxymorons was a great name. But they found out an old punk band already had the name. So they contacted them and the old geezers said they would sell them the rights or $25,000. [Feel free to boo them right now]. So they decided to put a second R in their name because R’s are free]. They kept the $25K and copyrighted their new name. So when they show TWO R’s we were to shout NOT ONE!
It was great, as was their final song “Justice.” During this song Royal and the Serpent came out and danced around with them, which was a lot of fun.
A few minutes after their set was over, the guys came out from backstage and were in the audience looking for someone they knew. The girl was standing right next to us and we wound up chatting with them a bit. That’s when I asked Paulino about his guitar rig–was he looping himself or what. He said that he had some kind of looping system that fed back through the system and made him sound huge. And he was right.
They were the best opening band I’ve seen in years and I’m so glad we caught them. I would absolutely see them again.
- Think Big µ
- Green Vision µ
- Django µ
- Definition µ
- Happy Birthday to You
- Pretty People µ
- Justice µ
µ Mohawks & durags (2021)
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