El-P / Mr. Lif / Copywrite and Cage / RJD2

Producer du jour RJD2, who opened the show with a set of his instrumentals and some cutting, provided turntable manipulations along with DJ Fakts One for sets by the duos of Copywrite and Cage, followed by Mr. Lif and El-P. First up: ultraviolence, with Cage and Copywrite tag teaming through a medley of their "hits." As always, "Agent Orange" was the jam, but Cage lacked the stage presence of an earlier show at the smaller, more intimate Comfort Zone. Approaching the music from a different angle, Mr Lif and El-P took turns questioning the political and social status quo with tracks like El-P's "Patriotism" and "Stepfather Factory," and Lif's "Glimpse of the Struggle," not forgetting to party along the way. While Lif embodied stage presence, El-P yo-yoed between looking tired and pure mic-wrecking. It probably didn't help that the vocals were mixed too low, which detracted from the music, especially during the dense musical chaos that is an El-P production.