In the tradition of legendary stoners Cheech & Chong, Redman & Method Man, and Harold & Kumar, we have the inimitable Devin the Dude and his homies the Coughee Bros. Live from the Scoot Inn as part of SXSW festivities, Devin and crew took stage in the warm Austin air for what was truly an eye opening event.
The venue was outdoors, yet you can still smell the stench of the sticky. Devin owns that post How High fan base and it’s clearly an audience united in haze. As a casual observer who has never seen Devin live but has sporadic exposure to his catalogue you immediately notice a few things.
First among those is that you can see the love in his face for this music. Secondly you can tell that he and the Coughee brothers rehearse. There aren’t many hitches to the show; there are no lights and no dancers. Everyone is on time with their parts no one is tripping over anyone’s words, they have great breath control (especially for *ahem coughees) and they are totally in tuned with their audience. DJ Jugg Mugg moves well from song to song and there is a natural movement in mood. You never get the sense that it’s an ego thing but that it’s for the people.
Devin flows, beat boxes, and makes sound effect like the homie from Police Academy much to everyone’s delight. Though we’re in his home state, it feels like just about everyone in this college town is a Devin fan. Never a stage hog, he retreats for the Coughees to get shine and never overpowers the stage.
Some drunk guy next to me just burned a big girl with his weed for the second time, during “Getting High” and she’s had enough. Homey can barely stand straight. Then a scuffle breaks out in the crowd but it disperses fairly quickly. The show never skips a step.
I have to admit it’s the most different concert experience I’ve ever had. He’s rapping about raunchy stuff and about taking a crap, but no girls are grossed out and everybody is having a good time. Devin the Dude’s show is made for outdoor concerts
The energy goes up a notch when Devin goes into his verse from Chronic 2001 ’s “F*** You” . There are a couple highlights as well, such as bringing out Odd Squad partner Rob Quest for a couple of joints.
Seeing this makes me want to go back and go thru the Dude’s catalogue. Good show totally different experience. They can keep the weed but Devin just sold himself a couple albums. The beats are funk heavy but mellow and it translates well to the stage environment maintained by Devin and the Coughee Brothers. One thing is certain; Devin IS that dude and he loves this music and his audience feels the same. I may have a contact from all the greenery, but I would certainly pay to see this guy. I’ll leave you with his closing: “smoking the weed feeling fine, got me a forty and a fat a** dime.” If you ever get the chance, see the Dude.