The October 7 One Self concert was my first show at RNR H; I had been there for drinks, but never a show–Marky Ramone DJing doesn’t count for a number of reasons, some of which I should write up. I’ll need more visits to have a firm opinion of the venue, but so far I like it. The sound was fairly good and and the crowd, despite being young, was also good, mostly because they knew what was going on for the most part and it was mixed (OMG! a mixed show in DC!). My one concern is show start times; One Self didn’t go on until 130a.

Unfortunately, the show itself wasn’t a good first experience at RNR Hotel. One reason is the opening acts were fairly weak, which is standard for hip hop shows.

The surprising part is that One Self half-assed the show. A third of the group didn’t show up–the reason given for Blurum 13‘s absence was a wedding, an event he probably knew about for a long time and should have communicated to the fans–they played for about 45 minutes, and Vadim and Yarah Bravo played an unfinished track to which Yarah forgot the lyrics. There is absolutely no reason to play unfinished material, freestyle, and/or perform anything but to the best of your abilities for paying fans.

This latter disappointment is directly related to my post on the maturity of bands, although One Self is certainly an experienced and tremendously adept band, which makes their mediocre show such a surprise.