Open Mike Eagle, Fatboi Sharif, and Video Dave at Elsewhere Zone One
Touring in support of his newest (and very great) record, a tape called component system with the auto reverse, Los Angeles rapper Open Mike Eagle headlined Elsewhere Zone One in Brooklyn, NY. He was joined by Video Dave (who kicked off the show about 7PM and later joined Mike on stage on backup vocals and video projections), and New Jersey’s Fatboi Sharif (who performed with them the night before in Philadelphia), and replaced Serengeti, who was originally booked but unable to join the east coast leg of the tour (Quelle Chris will hit the stage tonight in D.C. instead).
Video Dave performed songs from his releases and told stories behind the tracks as he performed them. One album was inspired by his first job in New York, that he found on Craigslist, where he created videos for a person who ultimately went to jail for fraud. In addition to performing songs, Dave shared images of items made out of felt that he created in 2020 when everything shut down such as skeletons in coffins, light bulb covers, and buildings.
Up next, was Fatboi Sharif, who barely spent any time on the Zone One stage before making his way into the audience and performing his songs from the floor (during Video Dave’s set, I realized Sharif would do this and that I left my camera flash at home in my other camera bag). When Fatboi Sharif performed with Open Mike Eagle earlier this summer on Elsewhere’s rooftop, he also performed in the crowd, rather than on stage, while wearing a hospital gown. Last night, he took off his t-shirt and performed most of his set topless. Sharif’s set was great once again, with a few people near him rapping excitedly along with him.
Open Mike Eagle took the stage before 9PM, beginning his set with the first song from the new record, “the song with the secret name,” and including other tracks from the same album in his set and encore such as “i’ll fight you,” “I retired and then I changed my mind,” “circuit city,” “cd only bonus track,” and “For DOOM,” a song for the departed MF DOOM. Mike also performed songs from his earlier releases such as “Bucciarati,” “(How Could Anybody) Feel at Home,” and “95 Radios,” finishing his set with an encore, ending the fantastic show before 10PM.