April 09, 2007 @ 12:10 pm

K-Os, P.O.S., Heroes Save Houston

Henry Adaso

LIVE: Gym Class Heroes en route to Bubblegum Roots status.

"He sounds too angry. I didn't come here to get yelled at," groused a 19-year old Gym Class Hero enthusiast at the April 5th KOs/P.O.S./Gym Class concert at Houston's Meridian. She was one of few fans unimpressed by co-opening act P.O.S.'s aggressive (albeit entertaining) performance. Then again, kicking off a live show in Texas with "First off, f*ck George Bush!" is simply taking the highway to damnation. But P.O.S. is not one to dumb down for his audience. Despite the many lily-white faces peering up at him, the Minneapolis punk-rapper railed against everything from ignorance to the ever-controversial N-word ("I raise a black fist, but I don't say 'nigga' in the things I write"), stopping in between verses to interact with the crowd. Once, his abrasive diatribe was met with a blank stare. That's when he ushered in the psychological. "Y'all paid some money to be here, so you might as well enjoy the f*ckin show," he said, "But if you don't like what I'm saying, you can leave." True enough, no one left the Meridian concert hall while P.O.S. was onstage. Hardly the most enticing name on the bill, but his heart-on-the-sleeve consciousness left an indelible impression on the minds of many. A 23-year-old black attendee told VIBE.com that P.O.S.'s set was his favorite part of the entire show: "He raps about some real stuff in an aggressive way." By contrast, Canadian hip-hopper K-Os offered a subtle, lush and layered live set. Clad in a black shirt and a cowboy hat, K-Os twirled around the stage, his dreads bouncing back and forth as he delivered an amalgam of reggae, rock, soul, and hip-hop, including "MC Murder" and "Sunday Morning." However, for most of the audience - predominantly Caucasian high schoolers - it was all about Gym Class Heroes. Chants of "Gym Class Heroes!" permeated the venue at intermission. This might not have been the case two years ago: GCH's first full-length flew under the radar, selling only 60,000 units in the U.S. In contrast, their second go-round, As Cruel As School Children, has now sold 200,000 more than that since its release last July, thanks in no small part to "Cupid's Chokehold" - GCH's interpretation of Supertramp's 1979 hit "Breakfast in America." "Houston, are you ready to get sexy with me?" beckoned GCH MC Travis McCoy, before the band ripped through a show sizably longer than their latest LP. Through hits like "The Queen & I," "New Friend Request," Shoot Down the Stars," and "Scandalous Scholastics," it was clear their raunchy high-school vignettes are what have attracted throngs of new admirers over the last year or so. As that 19-year-old GCH fan would tell you, the band's hybrid alt-hip hop / emo-rock style is much more magnetic to a teen fanbase than any sociopolitical rant P.O.S. could've delivered. McCoy ignited the crowd by recounting an after-show encounter with "male groupies" eager to impress him with their freestyle rap skills. He noted that he could identify with the struggles of those aspiring rappers because he was once in their shoes. "After rocking their behinds for hours all I want to do is, go back to my bus, throw on some pajamas, and watch 'Grey's Anatomy,'" he cracked, and delved into an extemporaneous verse of his own. A small room at the Meridian, packed to capacity, may soon become history for Gym Class Heroes as the group evolves into a bubblepop version of The Roots. Those school days narratives have translated to great success - the music industry equivalent of the GED. That night, however, it remained to be seen how these high school Heroes plan to make the inevitable transition to college.

Article tags: K-Os, P.O.S, Heroes, Save, Houston 

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