Blackalicious

Recorded on April 20, 2006 at the Showbox Theater, 4/20 Live In Seattle has M.C. Gift of Gab leading the fun dressed in a nondescript striped shirt and white hat while giving his poetry to the crowd in a sort of Everyman persona. The concert performance is excellent and the audio is fine, but the main camera shot with a sea of hands onscreen tends to get annoying over repeated viewings and the secondary angles could have added to the excitement with some better lighting and movement. These are minor quibbles, however, for the group Blackalicious take the sound and mind tricks of their original "Chemical Calisthenics" to an entertaining plateau and provide the energy that their audience clearly enjoys. "Blazing Arrow" dips into Harry Nilsson's classic "Me and My Arrow" groove, this talented outfit slipping their diverse talents into the tracks with clever abandon and never overwhelming. This isn't the fabric Sly Stone wove, Blackalicious tease and tempt throughout the 14 tracks, with commentary in-between that creates an inadvertent documentary out of this almost 60-minute concert. Gift of Gab is eloquent in this conversation that breaks up the live set, his perspective during the interview segments as interesting as his on-stage banter. Though he gives praise to Chuck D as an inspiration, there aren't enough Public Enemy textures or Sly & the Family Stone rhythms that the Blackalicious music promises. It's a good first DVD that plays to their base, but their potential is not yet fully realized on this outing. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide