Quality, Quantity, Quannum

Cramming so many Quannum emcees onto the stage at once is like forcing virtuoso guitarists to share the stage. Technique-minded fans were treated to an unending stream of quick rhymes, complex structures, and the kind of endurance and breath control better suited for basement parties and independent records than the crowded Fillmore Auditorium. With that in mind, it's no surprise so much of the performance bobbed heads more than it shook asses.

Even so, the show was a hit with an audience who, for the first time in history, saw so many Quannum performers sharing the stage, including the Lifesavas, Gift of Gab and Chief Xcel (better known as the duo Blackalicious) Lateef the Truthspeaker and Lyrics Born of Latyrx, as well as singer Joyo Velarde and the legendary DJ Shadow.

It was a fitting showcase of the influential California underground label; Quannum improved upon the same-old approach, with a smooth set of seamless changes held down by the constant presence of deejays Shadow, Chief Xcel, and D-Sharp of Lifesavas, and a rotating cast of emcees rocking tracks new, old, and not yet released.

Among the highlights was Shadow's DVD turntable, which brought a visual if gimmicky, jump to the time-honored art of scratch. And back in his old form, Gift of Gab was large and in charge, spitting the ridiculously fast flows that breathing problems in his last visits to Colorado made difficult. Under his watch, "Puttin' on the Ritz" got a much-needed update, and he treated fans to other upcoming solo songs and a few bumpin' Blackalicious classics like "Paragraph President."

Lateef and Lyrics Born kept crowds moving with their charismatic stage presence, while Joyo Velarde belted out background vocals and a solo song, making it clear she was no mere accessory-the girl has pipes.

So no matter how incongruous it may have been for independently minded hip-hop to indulge in so many bells and whistles, and in the Fillmore Auditorium no less, it was the melodies, courtesy of Velarde and some of the best deejays in the business, that brought a little bit of basement bounce to the masses.

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