How much bass can the Sunshine Theater handle? Judging by the sound at the De La Soul concert on Wednesday, Aug. 14, not much.
De La Soul is one of the most groundbreaking and inventive hip-hop groups around and its influence stems all the way back to its 1989 debut Three Feet High and Rising. So when the group hit the stage in Albuquerque, where was the sound?
The show began with local talent Los Brownspots - a jam band including a DJ, a cello, horns, stand-up bass, jazz guitar and a drummer. The crowd was responsive to their free-form, catchy groove and gave the band a surprising amount of attention.
De La Soul's DJ Mase walked out to greet a pleasant crowd, and explained that the tour bus had broken down on its way to the show so no sound checks had been done in advance. Though people grew restless in the audience, they sat through a redundant sound check for approximately 20 minutes.
Newcomers Urban Council tore onto the stage throwing towels to the audience. Though the band's approach was fierce, the sound was so bad that the audience was soon booing and throwing the merchandise back onto the stage. Throughout Urban Council's set, the emcees had difficulty determining which mics were functioning at audible volume.
Four emcees were constantly struggling for two mics. Also, their back-up tracks were quiet, fuzzy and tinny, making their weak lyrical abilities and poor stage presence more appalling.
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Mase took the stage again. He began the microphone checks again. But this time, the audience was rowdy and impatient. He tried telling stories and doing microphone checks at the same time, guilt-tripping the audience into responsiveness and a couple of jokes. Thirty minutes later the crowd was fizzling with nervous, bored energy.
Mase offered an apology.
"You all paid money for this, right?" Mase asked. "We're just trying to get the sound running correctly tonight so you get what you paid for."
Because of Mase's cunning stage tactics, by the time De La Soul took the stage the audiences impatience welled into relief. Emcee's Posdnuos and Trugoy the dove took the stage without arrogance, but with an air of comfort.
De La Soul ran through a variety of material, including "Me Myself and I," a classic in its repertoire, in addition to newer material from the Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump trilogy that began in 2000. The band ended its set with a crowd pleaser, handpicking women from the audience to dance on stage during the last song.
But in spite of De La Soul's positive energy, skilled flows and confidence, one couldn't help but notice that the bass needed to truly support a show like that was missing in the mix.
Somebody should call the Sunshine Theater.
