Review: Murs and Kidz In The Hall at the Rock and Roll Hotel

Photo by Lady Glock

Say what you want about Kidz in the Hall, but the Ivy League duo puts on a good show. Even though the Zune posters that lined the venue made it look like they were the headliner, the duo played the VP role to the self proclaimed President, Murs. Even though the dudes are second string, they are very comfortable with their self described "Joe Biden" status. The combination of Double-O on turntables AND drum machine, and Knoledge on the mic, kept the crowd hype throughout their whole set. Even though tracks like "Love Hangover," are on the chill side, the dudes kept their energy level high in times for Murs to take the stage.

The first thing you know about Murs is that the dude has a perennial smile. While other rappers try to "mean mug" for the cameras, Murs ALWAYS seems to be that dude that is always having too much fun on stage. Seriously, the dude was having more fun than many of the audience members.

This "funness," marks a marked change from most hip-hop shows. Some of this isn't surprising for a dude who famously rapped "I'm more Coldplay than I am Ice-T," on his critically acclaimed album Murs 3:16 long before the UK band had any associations with rappers. Between songs, the dude talks about being in love, and experiencing heartbreak and revenge, in which he punctuated by lip-singing Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know," to a puzzled crowd.

Even if his set did wander off into alternative rock, Murs is still a hip-hop artist though, and he kept his almost hour long set packed with a playlist that not only featured tracks from his latest album, Murs for President, but also had a healthy dose of Murry's Revenge and the more popular Murs 3:16 (His song "Bad Man!" got the greatest response from the audience). He even dropped some tracks from his free summer mixtape with 9th Wonder. And of course, like most hip-hop shows, Murs debuted his sidekick/weed carrier Verses for a couple of songs.

The Murs/Kidz In The Hall tour has been successful so far, and their DC iteration proves that they can rock a crowd. See them in a city near you.

Remaining Tour Dates

11/11/08 Miami, FL Churchill's Pub
11/13/08 Tallahassee, FL Platform 809
11/14/08 Orlando, FL Back Booth
11/15/08 Gainesville, FL Common Grounds
11/17/08 New Orleans, LA One Eyed Jacks
11/18/08 Austin, TX Emo's
11/19/08 Denton, TX Hailey's
11/21/08 Kansas City, MO The Record Bar
11/22/08 Boulder, CO Fox Theatre
12/11/08 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre