mc chris is on tour promoting his new album Race Wars, and I jumped at the chance to go see him. He came to 7th St. Entry (First Avenue) in Minneapolis and we (my fiancee and I) had a blast. We had such a good time, we decided to skip town this past weekend and go see him again in Iowa City. The driving to show ratio was over 2:1, but it was totally worth it.

The night opens with Adam Warrock, who does an awesome job warming up the crowd. He’s a lot of fun to watch because you can see how much he enjoys performing. I loved his song Starving Artist, which is really inspiring. Check out his website: adamwarrock.com.

The show continues with Random, a.k.a. Mega Ran, along with K-Murdock laying down the beats in tow. Random builds the show up with his rhymes about video gaming. His set includes Player Two, which sympathizes with anyone that is forced into always playing second, and freestyling by using random items that the crowd holds up as inspiration. Check him out: megaran.com.

Next on stage is Mc Lars. Backed up by a guitar and drums, he kicks the intensity of the evening up a notch. The most literate hip-hop artist you’ll ever have a chance to see, he raps about materialistic hip-hop (get crunk!), Hamlet’s Ophelia, and Edgar Allan Poe’s Raven. He’s the perfect last stop before the ten year old, himself. Check out Mc Lars’s new album Lars Attacks! at his website: mclars.com.

Then, it finally happens. mc chris arrives on the scene and jumps right into a remix of I Want Candy (bubblegum and taffy). The show goes on, showcasing his new album Race Wars (Race Wars!), along with the classics such as Nrrrd Girl, The Tussin, and of course Fett’s Vette. Among the songs from Race Wars (Race Wars!) is Popcorn Frog (I go ribbit then I get it, I go ribbit then I get it) and my new favorite Nerd Cave.

While onstage, mc’s hilarious. He rants about his video game withdrawal since going on tour, and reminds us that his hit from the summer, Hoodie Ninja, is about shitting on driveways and jerking off in trees.

But you also see the dedication to his craft. If he misses a line from the song, he hops over to his laptop and restarts the song until he gets it right. He might feel bad about it, but the crowd just cheers even more. If we could, we would make him repeat every song.

There is also the costume contest (thanks Hoodie Ninja!). Here was Iowa City’s costume contest winner, right out of Vault 101:

Business Casual Boba Fett says, "What the fuck?"

Finally, mc hangs around after the show to make sure everyone gets an autograph and picture with him. I asked him to do an additional show in Minneapolis next tour so I wouldn’t have to drive to Iowa to see him again. One can dream.

If you are still able to attend a show, I highly recommend going. The show costs around $15, and it’ll be the best time you’ve had in a while. His tour dates are listed on his site: mcchris.com.