Despite SAO hype, few show to concert

Billed as the “biggest hip-hop show BU’s seen in years,” Saturday night’s BU Central concert featuring 7L and Esoteric drew a turnout of about 45 students, which organizers said was unexpected.

Local rappers Raydar Ellis and the Fundamental, Apathy and Celph Titled also performed at the concert.

Student Activities Office Programs Coordinator Josh Hiscock said it was hard to gauge why people didn’t come out, but said approaching midterms and conflicting events, like Hockey Mania, may have contributed to low turnout.

“We’re gonna do it like there’s 50,000, and you’re going to do it like it’s AC/DC,” 7L and Esoteric told the audience as the show started. “We used to do mosh pits to this [song], but I know we only got like 19 people in the building.”

College of Arts and Sciences freshman Nels Vulin said he first became familiar with Esoteric and 7L fan in his native Oregon.

“[At home this concert would be] a big deal and everyone would know about it … I wish more people knew about this,” he said. “[The low attendance] blew my mind.”

Organizers had been optimistic before the show because of what they felt was “really good buzz,” Hiscock said.

Past response to BU Central events had been “overwhelmingly positive,” he said.

Previous concerts have featured alternative groups Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah and Kay Hanley, which drew hundreds of students each. Over 1,800 students have come to night-time events this semester, Hiscock said.

“In terms of musical genres in Boston, [hip-hop is] sort of the forgotten one,” he said. “People forget about all the hip-hop in Boston.”

Boston-based Esoteric and 7L have released three full-length albums since partnering in 1992. They have collaborated with Jedi Mind Tricks, J-Live and Wu Tang Clan’s Inspectah Deck, according to the artists’ website.

“If you’re looking for someone from Boston who does hip-hop well, it’s definitely this duo,” Hiscock said. “They freestyle, they scratch, they’re still producing music and trying new stuff.”

CAS freshman Ashley Inman said the show was her first hip-hop experience.

“They had a lot of energy,” she said. “No matter how good the music was, I wouldn’t have liked it if they didn’t have energy.”

Berklee College of Music student Raydar Ellis, backed by six-person band The Fundamental, and collaborators Apathy and Celph Titled were also on the bill.

“The crowd was great,” Ellis said. “It’s not about the size of the crowd, it’s about the feel. If you’re playing for 60 who are really into it, it’s better than playing for 3,000 that aren’t.

“The best part about tonight,” he continued, “was the crowd was really into it. I put my hand up, and they know exactly what time it is.”

Both Esoteric and Raydar Ellis said they would return to BU if invited back, despite the low turnout. Esoteric said he felt the audience was spirited and that performing for small or large crowds made no difference.

“When you’re on stage, you’re not really thinking about [the number of people],” he said. “I still sweat the same amount.”

Esoteric and 7L began their set on a song with the political chorus “[Expletive deleted] George Bush.”

“There’s people overseas getting blown to bits, George Bush at the game throwing the opening pitch,” Esoteric said in his rap.

Vulin said he appreciated the “real substance” of Esoteric’s material.

“[They] respect you as an audience member,” he said. “They trust you to have enough intelligence to understand what they bring to the table.”

Some audience members were less receptive to the messages in songs by Celph Titled and Apathy.

“There [seem to be] three stereotypes of what rappers rap about – money, girls and guns. For a lot of [Apathy and Celph Titled’s] songs, they had those themes,” CAS senior Fima Zaystev said.

Vulin said the small crowd would not deter him from attending future shows at BU Central.

“It’s a really good space,” he said. “It’s a nice intimacy … I’m going to be here definitely for the next show.”