Dead Obies

M at NXNE Bruise Cruise, Toronto ON, June 20

Photo: Kevin Jones

BY Thierry CôtéPublished Jun 21, 2015

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When it was announced that Montréal's Dead Obies were planning to record the follow-up to debut LP Montréal $ud during three concerts later this year, the news may have come to a surprise to those who have yet to experience one of the group's exhausting, explosive live performances. While Montréal $ud amply deserves every bit of praise it has received, the self-described "post-rap" group truly shines on stage, as passengers of the Captain Matthew Flinders discovered on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
 
Yes McCan grabbed the mic to jokingly promise the crowd that Dead Obies were going to perform some "boat bop" and "yacht jazz," but what followed instead was a tight, relentless half-hour of devastating punch lines dished out with laser-like precision in a mixture of English and French over VNCE's booming, menacing beats by the group's five distinctive MCs. Barely pausing to catch their breath, Dead Obies' set featured highlights from both Montréal $ud (including "Get Dough" and its "The Message"-sampling title track) and 2014 mixtape Collation vol. 2 ("Le Do It") before closing with a raging, metallic "Tony Hawk" that left the group a sweaty, triumphant mess.

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