I am going a little out of the norm here. Although I did see both Tee Double and P-Tek live at a performance, I will not be talking about the venue and straying a little from a review of the performance and more of their individual styles as Hip-Hop artists.
P-Tek The Professor! (
http://www.ptekmusic.com) was crazy phenomenal. I didn't know what to expect and what I heard I didn't expect! In one aspect it was typical good. You know, it was a live vocal performance over the pre-recorded track, but the technical aspects of the music would have made it near impossible to reproduce, fluidly, live. P-Teks voice is recognizable as his own, even when he gets amped up and starts to put the passion behind his voice, he still has his own timbre to his music. I do believe that P-Tek is part of Brain Ninjazz Edutainment, if not, he still has an association with them for all of the guest spots on his disc (my personal favorite is
Doc Deuce talking about getting it on with his
'own personal Fun, Fun, Fun Fest'). The content that he raps about is heady and deep. Smart lyrics that are as far out left field as you can get while being conceptual and witty. As for the music...
I was lucky enough to have P-Tek drop me his disc. I have blasted it on repeat since then, with only a couple of exceptions (Magna Carta Holy Grail and Tee Double)! I would say that the nickname "The Professor" should and would stick because of the lyrical and musical genius this album is. It sounded crafted and created in the most positive way possible. Like The Professor from Gilligan's Island, P-Tek creates some music and rhymes from seemingly nowhere, then blasts them to the great joy of your ears! Pulling you in all directions, throughout the disc the music sounds current, up to date, and at times almost futuristic. BUT, the disc is so totally retro I was laughing at things that I picked up and how they translated to me. I heard pieces of BDP, Sugar Hill Gang, and 3rd Bass (yup! I said that and that is what I heard). Please jump to his website, give him a listen, go out and support the hip-hop scene in Austin, Texas and P-Tek 'The Professor' will leave you with a smile.
Tee Double (
http://www.teedouble.com) and I have that common thread of going to school here in Austin, Tx in the late Eighties and early Nineties (McCallum for Tee and Reagan for me). Austin is not much of a different city now from then to now. Oh yes it has changed over the last 2+ decades, but not anymore than your hometown has grown and changed over that same time span. This common thread does put my brain on backspin though, thinking of life in Austin 20 something years ago and what shaped and influenced our lives and our musical tastes. How we have developed our opinions and singular paths now from then is surprising as diverse and different as our musical backgrounds are. I am happy that I have maintained that connection with the music world by writing about all of the awesome and diverse things that Austin, Texas offers not only to it's children, but the rest of the world. I am even happier to have reconnected with a child of the city that has chosen to stay, create, and maintain something worth while for the city of Austin to be proud of! I am sure that I could write a book, go on and on, and yet that has nothing to do with the blog or the artist known as Tee Double.
Tee Double on stage is smooth, serene, and yet deadly serious and focused. Stabbing his rhymes into your head with crazy precision making you think with his pointed lyrics. A gifted and talented producer and exquisite creator of beats, his is 100% Austin and original. Sounding (IMO) a lot like Too Short, if Short was intelligent, political, and had stayed off the pipe. His voice is low key, but the stories he weaves are deep, intellectual and no doubt the reason that the City of Austin has graced him with his own day (September 30th). Go to his web page to really get a glimpse at all of the work he has done for Austin and the Hip Hop community here.
The disc that I am proud to be listening too (in between the new Jay Z and that P-Tek dude) is pretty powerful shit. It has a completely retro sound to it, but he maintains and weaves the story intricately throughout the whole disc. It all ties together musically! The lyrical content is sharp, as I said, and you have no trouble picking up Tee Doubles pride in his home town. With absolutely no hesitation I tell you to go see Tee when you can, the problem is that he is in such high demand, his performances seem to be opening for some of the biggest names in the music game.
Laters
The patio area is very nice with lots of seating, a big gigantic fountain in the middle, and some misting fans to keep you cool while you enjoy their Happy Hour libations. My two gripes for Abuelo's outside area: 1) A BAR.....seriously, this place is nice and should have a bar outside. Waiting to get a drink outside proved to be a little more than I would have really like, but was OK. 2) put the misting fans on 'rotate'. If these fans don't rotate outside to keep your patrons cool and happy, don't be a cheap ass and replace these.
The Brew does seem to rotate singers as they need, but the core band never changes. The young man currently on vocals did a smashing job. They even introduced a beautiful young lady to do a couple of Celia Cruz songs and those were astounding too. It seems if you take a moment to go support local Austin music, this would be another band to add to your list, support, and enjoy!
