Philly rapper Freeway at Chop Suey on Saturday: gruff, powerful, in control. Prodigious beard. His set was a pleasure to behold, with thick, thumping, meaty beats over which his growl sounded just right. Such sparkly bling, too! Our only complaints are that he cut off "It's Over" way too early and there were a couple too many a capellas, but the man can keep filthily perfect time and impresses regardless of the beat behind him. Freeway's a professional, plain and simple, and we hope he returns to Seattle now that he knows we'll show him love,Sportn' Life family style. (Who caught his rap session with JFK after the show? Put details in the comments!)

The openers weren't quite as 100% on point as Freeway, and maybe that's because there wasn't much of a crowd until Mr. "Free At Last" stepped on stage. Jay Barz, Cancer Rising, and D. Black all came with tried-and-true material. Jay Barz, of course, had something like seven guys up there with him. We've seen that gimmick work in his favor before, but on Saturday he almost got swallowed by his posse. Our beloved CR, who killed Sasquatch by all accounts, is looking like they could use a couple weeks to recover from all the touring they've been doing. We loved the return of D. Black's fog machine, and he and Spaceman make a well-matched couple up on stage. New material coming soon, D.?

Here: Freeway's "It's Over." Holy crap, this song is catchy!