The bass makes my chest bounce, it makes my nostrils vibrate, it shakes my legs but what is most important: It makes me bob my head. From the moment that El-P and Killer Mike aka Run The Jewels walk on stage they seem determined make the winter cold crowd move. That is what they do and they do it loud!
Last time (my first) I saw El-P was in Loppen, Copenhagen on his Cancer 4 Cure tour. I have been following him since the days of Fantastic Damage, so we where looking at a pile of expectations that had been build up over a decade, but at the end of the night it was a happy boy that zig-zagged his way home from Loppen. It is about a year ago now. This time El-P and Killer Mike was set to play Store Vega, but the concert was rescheduled to Lille Vega, yet there was still room – though not a lot. Still someone out there must have been asleep, because Run The Jewels certainly deserve a full house.
The show was intense – just like the album. El-P and Killer Mike are both skilled rappers with many years of experience; when it comes to rapping they are like atomic clocks. On time. In the second half of the show the duo opened up for their respective back catalogs with songs like “Drones over Brooklyn” (from El-P´s album Cancer 4 Cure), “Big Beast” (from Killer Mike’s 2012 album ‘R.A.P. Music), “The Full Retard” (also Cancer 4 Cure) and a personal favorite of mine, a vocal only version of the late nineties Company Flow song called “Patriotism” that made me recall the Allen Ginsberg poem “America”.
Not only did they give a highly energetic live performance, they gave the audience a few good jokes and good vibes as well. The duo really seemed to be enjoying themselves. El-P said it himself towards the end: “I must have the greatest job in the world because each night I get to see this guy [Killer Mike] dance”.
