Karl Denson and Public Enemy crushed the the 94 year old Ogden Theater with hours of thumpin’ bass, funk and hip hop that forced even the most introverted members of the audience to shake a leg.It’s just not that often you’ll see a classic, dare I say iconic hip hop group on a double bill with a funk and jazz saxophonist/flutist and his band.
Actually, three acts played that evening at the Ogden as first was Chali 2na and his band, House of Vibe. Chali, is a former member of the hip hop group Jurassic 5 as well as a former member of Ozomatli. Their set was a tight, well played mix and included a few Jurassic songs like “Quality Control." 2na’s seasoned and super deep voice really had the crowd moving and the set had an obvious reggae tone throughout.
Public Enemy was next and took control of the stage a little after 10:00pm. They played an incredibly super high geared set filled with old and new material alike. Classic Songs like “Don’t Believe the Hype,” “Bring the Noise” and “911 is a joke” had people jumpin’ and throwing their fists into the air the entire show. The stage was constantly filled with musicians, movement and ever changing light. You had army soldiers constantly patrolling the stage, while doing well choreographed dance moves in the process. DJ Lord was as cool as a cucumber spinning and doing his thing in the background, and all the while you had the politically, and socially charged Chuck D jammin’ his heart out. All this would be great enough for a concert, but when you add in the often imitated but never duplicated Flavor Flav doing his rhymin, bustin’ moves, and cranking it out on his bass, the show becomes something really special.
At around 11:40 or so Chuck D told the audience the band was being told they had 20 minutes to wrap it up. Some of the crowd was booing because they didn’t want Public Enemy to leave, however Public Enemy felt this and purposely gave the crowd something to remember for a long time, when they ended the show with a mashing 20 minute medley of some of their Iconic classics like “Fight the Power” that absolutely knocked people off their feet. Needless to say, they left the stage to ear splitting cheers.
Karl Denson and his band The Tiny Universe came on stage to a crowd that had noticeably thinned out just a little bit, but still had plenty of energy to dance until the wee hours of the evening. Chali 2na stepped in and played with Karl’s band, but the set wasn’t close to “hip hoppy.” The Tiny Universe was ultra tight and technically near perfect, and of course Karl was, as usual, his freakishly talented self jamming on sax, flute, and vocals. I can understand why it might be difficult to play a set after Public Enemy comes and owns a room like they did, but Karl and his band pulled it off flawlessly and a great time was had by all.
