Joaquin Phoenix with Klever and Craze
Wednesday, March 12, 2009
LIV, Miami Beach
Joaquin Phoenix, Worse Than: The stench of budussy on a Sunday morning.
Oh, how the mighty tables do turn. Next stop on the mocumentary train: Miami Beach. A sea of night owls stuck it out at LIV Wednesday night, curious to see what Joaquin Phoenix and bro-in-law Casey Affleck had in store.
Dirty Hairy hit the jackpot [so they thought] when confirming Phoenix's exclusive rap set, where he was scheduled to spit rhymes from three new tracks from his album-in-progress. The dance party crew was ready to check out Phoenix's new act, which stunk worse than the Bill Clinton's Lewinksy cigar - a well-deserved throwback. The bullshit artist didn't bring shit with him Wednesday night - save his 'hobo' character complete with nappy beard and dreads, which also probably shared a similar stench.
After 45 seconds of his lackluster stage presence, Phoenix gave up and dove into the crowd to 'brawl' with a naysayer. We're calling your bluff, loser. We just hope the film is worth touring around the country looking like a dirty asshole who hasn't showered in three months.
Enough about the publicity stunt, let's get down to the beatmasters.
After a successful recent Dirty Hairy gig featuring Diplo, the humpday
bash booked two DJs known to kill it as a duo: Miami's Craze and
Atlanta's Klever. The crowd was a healthy mix of hipsters, elites and
beat junkies, which boded well for the twosome. The party kicked off at
10 p.m. and in between sets and sole mashes, magic was made as the
masters went to work. Melding Klever's amped electronica with Craze's
Luke-laced street-hop, the two blended tracks like Technotronic's "Pump
Up The Jam," with Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It," along with other standout
stints transitioning Journey's "Don't Stop Believing'" into Ginuwine's
"Pony."
As the hours ticked by, the mashes kept crankin'. Even as the venue
began to file out, Craze and Klever held strong on the ones and twos
amped by the crew of on-stage VIPs. Both took turns grinding with
groupies, and thanks to obliteration, the couple saved the night that
the aforementioned celeb guest turned into a clusterfuck. At 3:30 a.m.,
they closed out with a short hip-hop set blasting beloved hits from
Biggie, Hot Boys and DMX. Dipping into the '09 tracklist was expected,
but the real candy was '80s dance-meets-'90s rap.
You still have another chance of catching Klever when he spins at the Undocumented Management party at Louis March 28 along with the
MSTRKRFT, Bloody Beetroots, L.A. Riots and more. Craze is also to making
an appearance at Poplife's WMC at Rokbar March 26 along with A-Trak,
Blu Jemz and Egg Foo Young.
