By Steve Reddell

On Octoer 17th, rapper Lyrics Born kicked off his nationwide Auto Reverse tour at UC Davis. The Jazz Mafia’s own pDub (aka Gerald Patrick Korte) was signed on as drummer for the tour.

The show was not very crowded (it’s wednesday at Davis, what can ya do?) but the crowd was definitely into all of the performers. After a local dance troupe performed, hip-Hop group Righteous Movement started their set. DJ Tofu got the crowed hyped up at the beginning and end of their 6 song set. The four rappers covered the stage well and addressed the audience to help them feel involved.

Saul Williams was next. This renowned poet began his set on the stage, but then said “I want to be down there” and stood with the audience on the floor. The crowd was silent as he recited his poems and lyrics, eventually settling to the floor which made the performance even more intimate. Poems aside, Williams’ messages of self worth, confidence and outside-of-the-box thinking resonated with the students. By taking requests and speaking directly to the crowd, Williams made his performance an intimate and memorable one.

LB took to the stage next. This was a homecoming for him, as he was a student at UC Davis years ago. He premiered a lot of new material and did some songs from his first major label album, Later That Day. pDub, who was only recently asked to do the tour, played with heavy energy and seemed like he had a good rapport with the other musicians. The tour wraps up on November 17th at the Independent in SF.