March 13, 2001

Outkast: New York The Theater At Madison Square Garden

...While they open with a track off of 'Stankonia', the concert itself is an exploration of OutKast's entire career, from their 1994 release, 'Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik', to the present...

Apparently, OutKast are attempting to redefine the term "underground" hip hop. Despite the fact that the Atlanta duo's latest album, 'Stankonia', is one of the hottest albums in America right now, they're showing a sold-out New York City crowd just how underground they are, metaphorically at least. They're performing in a cavern, you see. Or at least a set designed to look like one.

The last time OutKast's Big Boi and Andre 3000 played in New York, it was at SOB's, a small club with a capacity of 500 people. That was just a few months ago. Now here they are at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, which seats more than ten times that number. Even Puff Daddy couldn't keep himself away from this show, regardless of his current troubles. It's easy to throw around the phrase "overnight success story" here, but it's important to remember that these guys have been on the scene for seven years now, with four albums to their credit. It's also important to remember, as well as extremely obvious, just how well deserved their success is.

Dre and Boi hit the stage hard with 'Gasoline Dreams'. Behind them, bringing the "cave" to life, are a team of frantic male dancers in sports gear, two guitarists, three backup singers and their DJ, who's perched atop a stalagmite podium.

As usual, Dre provides a spectacle of his own, sporting a blond wig and a pink jumpsuit David Bowie might have worn to orbit the Earth in 1970. And perhaps the time-spanning motif is appropriate, because while they open with a track off of 'Stankonia', the concert itself is an exploration of OutKast's entire career, from their 1994 release, 'Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik', to the present.

It may come as a shock to newer fans to be exposed to so much older material, but one of the set's finest moments comes in the rapid-fire delivery on 'Da Art Of Storytelling', while 'Rosa Parks', the group's biggest pre-'Stankonia' hit, is enough to get the entire crowd singing, "Everybody move to the back of the bus".

A lot of stage time is given to OutKast associates as well, such as Slimm Calhoun, who delivers a full rendition of his recent single, 'It's OK', supported by the entire onstage crew. Plus, at any given moment, there seems to be anywhere from two to five members of the Dungeon Family, the clique from the dirty south that includes Goodie Mob and OutKast, among others, up there.

On the downside, there are some serious sound problems in the venue tonight, that leave those up front with ringing ears from bass so deafening that it often overwhelms the vocals, and those off to the sides unable to clearly make out the different elements of the mix. Either the soundman or someone at the Theater deserves a serious spanking for that one.

Still, it's not enough to keep one from realising the quality of the performance, or the performers. Of course, it's the 'Stankonia' songs that really draw the whole house into OutKast's subterranean world tonight, with 'Ms Jackson' turning into a fully fledged sing-along and 'So Fresh, So Clean' getting dirty enough to defy its own title.

'BOB', the evening's closer, is nothing short of pure, lovely chaos, a manic speed frenzy that sees fans competing with those on the now almost overflowing stage to see who can move the fastest. Dre describes the song as "hip hop on crack". There's no encore, but it's fitting. There's really no way you can follow that.

Doug Levy