MC Frontalot Live Photo 2014 Orlando Nerd Fest

MC Frontalot is here to stay! | Orlando Nerdfest 2014 | Live Review + Photos

by Mitch Foster • August 25, 2014

A full moon hung over the last day of Orlando’s Nerdfest 2014. MC Frontalot and his business associates served as “The Final Boss” for the four day festival, closing it out formally, dressed formally, in an upbeat elegant, and nerdy manner.

MC Frontalot, the king of nerdcore hip-hop, enunciates very well in his raps. Frontalot is backed by a heavily funk-influenced three piece band consisting of simply a keyboard, drums, and a bass guitar. I must say, his drummer does quite well with dynamics. Some drummers just beat the shit out of their drums, which I can also appreciate, but this guy played like he had a volume level attached to his drumset and knew how to use it. There were notable hints of The Roots from The Tonight Show in the beats and rhythms and my swift moving, tangent-mind lead me to envision what it’d be like if Jimmy Fallon had filled in temporarily for Frontalot – they both have this awkward, nervous expression when performing in character which seems to often categorize them into being interesting and entertaining. Well played y’all. 😉

“First World Problem” served as the set opener for the evening. As amusing as that song is, if you listen to the lyrics, it really puts life into perspective. I’m sitting at my desk in front of my laptop computer in my air conditioned apartment drinking my very last craft beer and the store’s closed so I can’t buy another (first world problem). Here’s some of MC Frontalot’s examples:

No bubbles in the soda cup (first world problem)

App crashed when you loaded up (first world problem)

Phone’s OS is outta date (first world problem)

Colors won’t calibrate (first world problem)

They never stock the snack you want (first world problem)

Caught herpes from a celebutante (first world problem)

I’ve always had a idiosyncratic respect for a band or artist that can flawlessly maintain character profile(s) throughout a performance. MC Frontalot and his band all wore ties, button-downs, and slacks. “Fingers Up!” He commanded, strongly committed to his character. “[Put a] Look of disappointment on the face!” He continued as the crowd obeyed his every order with pleasure. This was not only a unique request but a very fun one to act out. As Lorde would say, “I’m kinda tired of getting told to throw my hands up in the air.” Frontalot had that shit locked down years before Lorde!

Here’s a video I caught of him on the Shows I Go To Instagram performing “Charity Case.”

You can see the passion in his eyes, through the black rimmed glasses and concrete character Frontalot maintains. You can even catch glimpses of how much he actually fucking cares about what he does, how he’s presented, and how much he respects and appreciates the people who support him. As his character sarcastically says in “First World Problem,” “Poor me: I have to be a professional rapper.” Well, he is a professional. And you can see his professional passion bleed through in every single song. Frontalot took us way back when he performed “Goth Girls” from his 2006 official debut album Nerdcore Rising. He was just as animated as ever. Check it:

MC Frontalot has a new album coming out August 26 entitled Question Bedtime – another clever tongue-in-cheek title. This one, being a children’s album, reinterprets childhood bedtime stories via rhymes. It’s pretty badass. It’s his sixth full length studio album since he first began performing music as MC Frontalot in 1999. So far, my favorite song is “Start Over.” Frontalot programed us to respond appropriately to his calls in the chorus “That’s the story,” “That ain’t how it happen.”

<a href="http://frontalot.bandcamp.com/album/question-bedtime">Question Bedtime by MC Frontalot</a>

MC Frontalot modestly proclaimed himself the “world’s 579th greatest rapper” of all time. But he’s definitely number one in the nerdcore hip-hop genre that he founded and he’s about to be number one for a lof of cool kids when this new album drops! Order the CD here and get an immediate download of the album. Needless to say, Frontalot is here to stay!

Catch him our tour in the states through the end of September and in the UK in October and check out our Live Photos from the show below. Peace!

1-Sep El Corazon Seattle, WA

2-Sep Dante’s Portland, OR

4-Sep Brick & Mortar Music Hall San Francisco, CA

6-Sep Viper Room West Hollywood, CA

7-Sep Club Red Theaters Mesa, AZ

9-Sep Holy Mountain Austin, TX

10-Sep Three Links Dallas, TX

12-Sep Hartley/Vey at Manship Theatre Baton Rouge, LA

13-Sep The Beatnik New Orleans, LA

14-Sep Vinyl @ Center Stage Atlanta, GA

17-Sep Kings Raleigh, NC

18-Sep Ottobar Baltimore, MD