Kool Keith (Dr. Octagon) blows up Portland February 21st.

Kool Keith! Kool Keith! Kool Keith! Yes, the infamous Bellevue (NY mental hospital, not the suburb) patient is coming up to the Northwest, and I have to say thank god, it's been too long since I have seen the man with many faces (almost 3 years). Doc Ock is what I would call quasi-famous, like Del or Devin the Dude, therefore he is popular among dumb girls and wannabe heads, so of course the show is gonna be packed with high school students who have just listened to Dr. Octagonecologyst a week ago. He is even billed as Dr. Octagon at the venue, while annoying, from a marketing perspective it's a good idea, as his alter-ego is probably better known than his real persona, Kool Keith. Petty misgivings aside I am damn excited for this show and some new material from Keith is always exciting. Although billed as Octagon, I doubt he will limit his setlist to Octagon tracks, that's not Keith's style. Most likely (or should I say hopefully?) we will get a few Octagon tracks and the rest a selection from the extensive Keith discography. I remember now the first Keith show I saw he was billed as Dr. Octagon and he didnt play his well known tracks, so don't be fooled by what's one the marquis, this'll be a Kool Keith show all the way through. With all the material Kool Keith has done since Ultramagnetic MC's there is bound to be some damn good shit, I'm crossing my fingers for a Cenobites reunion (Kool Keith, Godfather Don and Bobbito, I think his first album after Ultra, released 1993), although that will probably never happen. Even though Octagonecologyst was released in 1996 (hard to imagine isn't it) it still sounds original and fresh, and the albums' influence on underground hip-hop today is insurmountable (MF Doom wasn't the first emcee to have a billion personae). And that is why he can be billed by his 12 year old alter ego in 2008 and still have young white girls swoon. So, please, if you are in the Portland area or willing to do a four hour drive from Seattle to see a legend in person (people should walk 20 miles in the snow to see him, yes he's THAT GOOD) like me, check this show out and support Keith so he can keep on releasing some of the most original shit hip-hop has to offer.

PS: Since this show is a long way off, and since Keith usually comes to Seattle if he's gonna play an OR show, there is a good chance he will be heading to the Emerald City. So keep your fingers crossed and I will repost new show details if he does manage to come up here.