TOO HIGH CREW

Hard as this might be to believe for a generation weaned on Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and, er, the Black Eyed Peas, there was a time when rap was carefully designed to outrage. And by outrage, we’re not talking interrupting Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, sporting facial tattoos, or peeing one’s pants in concert. Back in the day, you had the likes of Geto Boys firing off lines like “I sliced her up until her guts were like spaghetti.”

Chrissy & Ryry don’t get quite that offensive on Two Birds, Both Stoned, but damn if they don’t give it the old college try. Consider the album’s finest moment, the extended murder fantasy “Fucking Stupid”, where they promise to annihilate the entire family of the person who committed a heinous crime: stealing, um, grandpa’s wallet. Sample lyrics include: “I’ll go to your house and I’ll cut your heat off/And when I return I’ll cut your fucking feet off/And dip them in vinegar/Yeah, I’m that sinister.” And if that wasn’t already insanely excellent enough, their ravings are set to baroque string swells and doom-generation bass booms, the whole effect outright rapturous.

As for the rest of Two Birds, Both Stoned, lyrically, it’s all bitches, blunts, and more bitches.

Musically, Chrissy & Ryry prove themselves as familiar with Dirty South rap joints (“We High [We High]”) as they are Minnesota DIY hip-hop (“Erry Bottle”) and West Coast G-funk (“So High [So High]”).

So, at the risk of offending the more politically correct of today’s hop-hop fans—this bitch rocks like a motherfucker. Geto Boys would approve. - GEORGIA STRAIGHT

We predicted that last night’s Halloween Extravaganza was going to be ridiculous, and we were quite right. Last night’s Halloween Extravaganza was RIDICULOUS.

Blood Diamonds warmed up the joint with a DJ set before Teen Daze went on to serenade the sold out room with some sweet synthy bliss. He never fails to bring a heap of infectious happiness and gratitude to his live show, so the crowd was pretty slicked up when he bid us his farewells to make way for 21-person Vancouver hip-hop spectacle, Too High Crew.

We can only imagine the logistical nightmare of synchronizing 21 humans to collectively sit, let alone assemble for a one-hour rap set on the snug Electric Owl stage. With 19 of the 21 present, the sight of the costume-clad gang was indeed something to gawk at, and logistics weren’t even a thing. They brought it.

Riding high (literally and figuratively — the place was hot-boxed about 10 minutes into their set) on the timely pre-show release of second EP Rolling Stoned, they ripped through a bunch of new and old stuff that made their third live show just plain rad.

Was it the stage props? Yeah. The thick cloud of weed-smoke hovering in the crowd? You bet. Some of the dirtiest and baddest raps Vancouver’s heard in… ever? Most definitely. - FLY BY NIGHT

Hip-hop can emerge from the desperate ganglands of an inner city ghetto or bring life to the oppressed voices lost in a distant country … or it come together while hanging with a group of friends at a cabin in Cumberland, B.C., when it’s too cold to do anything else. Chrissy and RyRy front Vancouver’s Too High Crew, who formed last winter and have been keeping it old school in basements and with DIY mixtapes ever since. With a full length in the works and a couple live shows coming up, the 21 member rap troupe is going strong … or maybe just getting higher.

Chrissy and RyRy and a few faceless members of their crew stopped by Audiopile Records on Commercial Drive to give props to some albums that have made their mark. Although their choices may or may not represent the sounds of the Too High Crew, the aspect of amusement the rappers go for was explicit. After an adamant shout out to crew members Lil Puke, Boulevardier, Krokus, Dirty, PussyPete, Kitchen Saank, T-1000, T3PO, K-Lo, The Knave, Mr. Lucky, Dooouge, Brodie Michaels, Highchair Shorty, Glenjamin Franklin, Bernasty, Emcee Klass, Chaser and Todd Graham It’s Friday, in no particular order, Chrissy and RyRy
- BEATROUTE

Michael Jackson defined the sound of Halloween for a generation with his smash hit “Thriller”. East Vancouver band Neverland is picking up where the King of Pop left off with a tribute looking to make hundreds on Saturday dance their asses off at the Biltmore Cabaret.

Halloween is all about cele- brating the macabre. And re- ally, is there anything more horrifying than watching a beautiful, talented black man slowly mutate into a de- crepit, OCD white woman? That’s why our entertain- ment pick for this weekend is Neverland, the ultimate Michael Jackson tribute band.
Fronting this theatrical, Vancouver-based 10-piece is Stephen Hardie – a man who’s been preparing for this role most of his life.
“He actually earned his entertainer’s badge in Cub Scouts by performing Michael Jackson,” says Nev- erland guitarist Cody Fennell of his bandmate. “We’ve been friends since the early 2000s. But even before I got to know him, I had been told about him and how he’s like an awe- some Michael Jackson.”
After hanging out with Hardie for awhile and watch- ing him bust out his Billie Jean moves in public (every chance he got), Fennell and co. got to thinking it might be time to channel all that talent.
“I was like, ‘This guy lives this – he needs to use it if he’s going to live it so hard,’” re- calls Fennell. “Then we started talking about how it’d be fun to start a Michael Jackson cover band.”
But it was just talk – that is, until that fateful day on June 25, 2009, when Wacko Jacko passed away. It may have been dark days for MJ fans worldwide, but it was also just the impetus that Fennell and his friends needed to make it happen, and not in a half-assed way, either.
Come Saturday, when Nev- erland brings its production to the Biltmore Cabaret (2755 Prince Edward St.), ticket holders can expect projected visuals, audience interaction and plenty of surprise gags (which we won’t ruin for you right now, but here’s a hint: Jesus juice).
“We just know that his con- certs were all about putting on the ultimate show, so we decided to try our hardest to put on the ultimate show,” says Fennell. “We basically try to make it as big and huge as possible.”
As for the music itself, you can expect to dance your ass off. Neverland doesn’t mess with MJ’s boogie vibe by veering off into other genres
for the sake of East Van street cred.
“We give it our own ele- ments, but at the same time we stay true to the sound...We’re not trying to turn it into a punk rock Michael Jackson thing,” says Fennell. “We just try to make it as pleasing to our ears as possible.”
So has Hardie’s onstage moonwalk lived up to his bandmates’ expectations?
“I think he’s better than most Michael Jackson im- personators that I see on TV and stuff,” says Fennell. “A lot of jaws drop when they first get to witness Steve do his thing.”
This Halloween will mark the band’s third show. And so far it’s been a very positive ex- perience for everyone in- volved – especially for Hardie, who’s finally found a way to exorcize some of that Thriller energy out of his sys- tem.
But don’t expect this to be a weekly gig. Something this elaborate and exceptional should only be enjoyed on special occasions. Fennell agrees.
“We don’t want to go out and beat everyone over the head with it to the point where they get sick of it,” he says, adding, “it’s all about finding the right shows and making those shows worth- while.” - 24 h (Vancouver)