MC Lars, Leeds Packhorse
I think it’s fair to say that MC Lars has pretty much split the punk (and hip-hop ome to think of it) crowd down the middle. You either love him or hate him; that much has come clear over the last couple of weeks. I love him, so I’m really pleased he’s beginning to make a bit of a splash not only here in the UK, but over in the States too. Lars, real name Andrew Nielson, is a San Franciscan native who admitted he got bored of playing pop-punk and started rapping. A self-confessed punk kid he started to write raps about William Shakespeare and an ode to his hero, Atom and his Package. Set it all to a Bloodhound Gang meets Weird Al Yankovic backdrop, throw in some emo references and catchier-than-SARS samples, and you’ve got MC Lars in a nutshell.
Playing on his largest UK dates yet as part of the Punktastic Tour, Lars, actually made up of Lars himself, programmer DJ and bassist PJ, stopped off for a solo jaunt in Leeds. His 8-song set went down very well indeed, indicative of the thoughts of many who have seen the live performance. But let’s get one thing straight – Lars isn’t the best rapper in the world and his rhymes certainly aren’t the most thought-provoking either, but what he does is pure fun. The Vine is treated to a really funny stage show, starting off with a cool sample about his nerves, and then takes the crowd through the tracks off his new EP as well as two from his ‘Radio Pet Fencing’ album.
There’s crowd participation aplenty on ‘Signing Emo’, a track which mocks the major label record execs and their emo signing craze, and by the closing ‘iGeneration’ plenty of people are singing along to the Piebald sample he uses. It’s certainly not rocket science, it’s certainly been done before, but the MC Lars experience is one that is really good for a laugh. You only have to watch the faces of those in attendance who are laughing at the lines in ‘Rapbeth’ (yep, a rap pastiche of the Shakespeare classic MacBeth) as Lars, who incidentally has a fantastic stage presence, struggles to keep a straight face.
He will be branded a novelty and a fad, but for someone who has spent a long time already doing this, the people in the know are the ones who will watch MC Lars grow. He does DIY tours, is signed to small indie labels and writes and records everything on his own laptop. You may prefer other DJs or MCs, but there is no denying this Californian is all about putting smiles on people’s faces – and long may it continue.
www.mclars.com
Paul
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