It was the end of an era for some, a fresh beginning for others, a brand new stop on the road to success for one and a re-invention for all involved in the “Game Over” show this past Friday, September 24th at The Milestone, in Charlotte, NC.
If you are not familiar with the magic and rich history that The Milestone encompasses, let’s brief you real quick. Established in 1969 at its same location, 3400 Tuckaseegee Road, The Milestonehas been coined “A southern landmark for rock/punk/new wave/metal and various underground scenes,” as well as it’s most recent tag, “The World Famous Milestone.”
Showcasing some of the absolute best and legendary live acts in the past, The Milestone’s history includes performances by Nirvana, The Flaming Lips, R.E.M., 10,000 Maniacs, Bo Diddley, Motor Head and The Connells among a vast array of hundreds more bands and acts. More info can be found at (http://www.afterbirthcasserole.com/milestone/site/)
The bill for Friday’s “Game Over” included, Cincinnati-based, Dual Core (http://dualcoremusic.com), Keyza Soulsay, Ty Bru (http://www.mightierthantheswordrecords.com) and the headliners, The ThoughtCriminals (http://www.myspace.com/thoughtcriminals).
Called, “Game Over” due to the fact that it was the final performance for The ThoughtCriminals with its most recent nine-person lineup. “The decision to move things in a different direction was not an easy one.” Said original ThoughtCriminal, Mikal kHill, elaborating by saying, “The ThoughtCriminals as a crew and concept, yes, as a band will still continue to exist unquestionably….There’s no beef, it’s not a swarm of drama we’ve been navigating through, the reality of the situation is just that it was time to change, so that’s what we are doing.”
“Game Over” started with incredible energy that did not fade for the remainder of a powerful night when The ThoughtCriminals played their final notes.
Opening act, Keyza Soulsay’s non-stop, soulful and speedy verbal delivery kept fans new and old alike vibing front and center throughout his set, with a crowd favorite being a track laced with a fresh sample from the theme song of the game show, “The Price Is Right.”
Next up, Asheboro’s Ty Bru brought to the stage some older tracks that the Charlotte scene hasn’t heard live in quite sometime, yet they still remembered. This was the first full solo set for the emcee since his 2008 “Carolina To China” tour.
Ty Bru had some help from a few Mightier Than The Sword Records label mates, West Wonder and Matt Irie for a few songs, which was a pleasant surprise for the crowd.
Bru also performed new verses from the upcoming “TNT” album as well as a featured single from JBryant’s “No Music, No Life” called “Something’s Missing” which was sprinkled in between “Brown Bag Special Vol.1” and “Heart Core Hip Hop” tracks.
Third on the bill was national act, Dual Core, a computer programmer/emcee, who represents the ever-growing Nerdcore genre of hip-hop.
Much of Dual Core’s success has spawned from noteworthy performances at the major Hacker conventions, DEFCON and CCC Camp Hacker conference in Germany. Needless to say, Dual Core is as professional as they come with a stage presence that was top notch. Also grasping the audience’s attention for the entire set through crisp delivery and loads of crowd participation, Dual Core’s set was a complete highlight reel.
The crowd favorite, “My Girlfriend Is A Hacker” showed another side of hip-hop that will definitely become more and more prominent in the North Carolina scene.
Dual Core was impressed with what he had seen in opener Keyza Soulsay, to the point that he was invited back on stage along side The ThoughtCriminals’ Rawzen for a lengthy freestyle cipher during the performance.
This set up the perfect transition for headliners, The ThoughtCriminals to hop up on stage one final time. Equipped to go out with a bang, they held nothing back, going all in with as much passion as they would have for their first show.
Mikal kHill brought his newly refurbished and self customized Luigi NES console equipped with a MIDI keyboard and television on stage for a whole new visual and audio experience, which was awesome to see and hear. To check out a quick run through of how kHill uses the NES as a live instrument, check out
Included in the set was The ThoughtCriminals classic material like “Pocket Full Of Trouble” and more of their hard rock-hop anthems that had the crowed hype and chanting “Hit ‘em up, hit ‘em up like this!” and “Put Your fist up, put your fist up!”
One of The ThoughtCriminals emcees, Rawzen performed his most remembered and emotional solo track, “Raven” and of course it wouldn’t be a ThoughtCriminal set without a cipher or two, which included all previous acts as well as some emcees that were in the crowd supporting the entire night, highlighted with producer/emcee Thanos.
All in all the show was amazing from start to finish, full of pros, amazing performances, microphone controllers, beat boxes, crowd participation, ciphers and tons of video game and computer slang, but just one con, it came and went all too fast, but I’m holding tight, there is already talks of a ThoughtCriminal reunion show in the distant future.
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