BUMPIN’ UGLIES/TOBYRAPS – BEACHLAND BALLROOM
By Eric Rauert
Its not often that a band sells out a two night run at the Beachland. But Annapolis based Bumpin’ Uglies with Tobyraps for support did just that on this cold February weekend and the entire venue was abuzz as I walked in. Good friends with Cleveland based Tropidelic, they clearly have a close connections with Cleveland and the fans here.
Admittedly I was running a little late, so I missed first opener C-Level. Luckily TobyRaps was up next and he was on stage shortly after I arrived. I don’t think I could come up with anything more apt than the first line of his Facebook page description: “Toby is a rapper from Cleveland, Ohio whose style has been described as Lil Dicky mixed with Watsky”. Both in appearance and musical style, I found this to be true but not derivatively so.
Mr. Raps puts on quite the show, with impressive bars about life but with a humorous twist. Not quite purely satirical like Lil Dicky, I enjoyed Toby’s injections of humor in songs like “Phone Died” without detracting from the lyrical strength. Over the 45 minute or so set, TobyRaps brought up guest, after guest, after guest in the typical hip hop fashion.
I couldn’t keep track of everyone but there were Ohio based guests, tour guests, and more that made for one featured show. And the live backing band gave life to Toby and friends’ raps. Listening to some of his studio music, the sampling and drum machines just couldn’t keep up. Many kudos for the band for bringing this to another level.
A smoke machine powered by the crowd ushered the headlining five piece onto stage. Bumpin’ Uglies are clearly a fan favorite in town, as the packed Ballroom cheered them on loudly. There was no apparent loss in energy as the band paraded into their second night. All night and in every description you find of the band, they list their style as “reggae”. I didn’t hear any in the traditional sense. This sounds more like third wave ska in the vein of Sublime and Reel Big Fish (complete with horn section).
These are fast paced songs with vocalist Brandon Hardesty at the helm. He combines the classic vocal stylings of ska with a metalcore whine similar to Oliver Sykes from Bring Me the Horizon. This is very fun music to dance to and that was the theme of the evening: fun. Ethan Lichtenberger and Will Lopez would come off the keyboard and guitar respectively to add a horn section to the evening. This was a bright and funky addition that elevated the Uglies’ songs. These horns dig deep into the ska roots and had me dancing all night long.
At some point around the middle of the set, someone who I can only assume is the “joint roadie” brought copious amounts of the green stuff on stage; it was a reggae concert after all. If there’s one thing that impressed me about bassist Dave Wolf’s performance, he smoked an ENTIRE joint during a song where he absolutely shredded. Hands free, like some sort of funky drug god.
The short and intense ska songs continued in a frenzy, with Hardesty stopping only to tell stories to the receptive crowd and speak about how much they love Cleveland. It definitely felt like a special connection, shown further by the crowd’s exuberance and dance moves to nearly every song and long after they left the stage. The encore started after a few minutes with Hardesty returning with an acoustic guitar. As he finished the first encore song, the band swarmed back on to stage for one last party with the audience.
While I wasn’t the biggest fan of the particular style of music Bumpin’ Uglies have to offer, I have to say I still had a great time. This was a fun and dance centric show that ended up being a great way to spend a Saturday night. If you want to let loose and can stand being immersed in the culture (in the way of a second-hand smoke cloud), this is an act to catch.
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