Brandon and Dane take Colombus: Injury Reserve & Armand Hammer on Tour

First off, I am entirely too old for this shit.

I cannot tell you the last time I was up past 1:00AM prior to this past weekend in Columbus, Ohio, where Brandon and I had the absolute pleasure of seeing three stellar acts: Akai Solo, Armand Hammer, and Injury Reserve. We were out late, it was extremely hot in Skully's Music Diner, and if I hadn't been wearing some HiFidelity ear plugs, I might have lost my hearing.

Anyway, the trip (and potential hearing loss) was completely worth it to see an unforgettable final set from Injury Reserve, supported by awesome talent on their final show of the tour.

Although relatively unknown, Akai Solo's performance would have you think otherwise. His energy and stage presence command the audience's attention, infusing his intermissions with wild anecdotes and plenty of charisma. His awareness is incredible -- he knows a lot of the audience hasn't heard his joints before, but that doesn't stop him from delivering it with the gusto of a late-career emcee. He also yelled out his Nintendo Switch ID on-stage, salute to this legend.

Armand Hammer began their set cycling through some popular cuts off of their latest, Alchemist-produced album, Haram. The enigmatic New York duo of billy woods (who still manages to keep a portion of his face hidden at all times, even live) and E L U C I D maintain as much rawness in their live delivery.

It wasn't until about 11:15 PM that Injury Reserve took the stage, which is also my bedtime. It was heartbreaking at first to see Reggie and Parker without their beloved friend Steppa T. Groggs, following his death in 2020. But as their set proceeded, it was clear their entire tour was in tribute to their fallen brother.

Probably the highlight of the night for me was getting to meet woods and E L U C I D following their set, although the line for the merchandise table was obnoxious and never-ending.

Dear Skully's Diner, if you're reading this, install some air-conditioning. Take it away, Brandon:

Dane did not try to hold my hand at the concert; under normal circumstances, I may have been offended. But Skully’s Diner was genuinely so comically hot that if he had made any effort at doing so, it would have ended in a sweaty unpleasant mess (which is how I describe myself anyway tbh). To reiterate, I cannot remember ever being hotter, and I used to live in a house with a sauna in the basement. 

Anyway, I was pretty much mostly along this trip for the ride. I hadn’t been to a good old General Admission concert in a few years and wanted to see if I could still hang. Spoilers: I cannot. 

Before talking about the performances, I’d like to take a moment to discuss a few people-watching highlights, filtered through my own discount gonzo journalist lens. 

1. We spent most of the show standing by the merch table, as a line somehow formed around and in front of us. You have to be impressively passive to stand in front of a merch stand for multiple hours and still not be the first in line, but gosh darn it we pulled it off. 

2. Related to the above, a group of women who, seemingly intentionally, chose to stand directly in front of us rather than literally anywhere else when we were standing about 20 feet back from the main crowd. 

3. Overheard: “This guy is so old he has a CD collection. Not even records. CDs”

4. This gentleman standing nearby had some STRONG opinions regarding Kendrick Lamar’s latest work, explaining with a great deal of passion and fervor his irritation that he felt that he was being preached at about respecting women. He claimed this to be unnecessary because he ALREADY respects women. Kendrick has some egg on his face now, I’ll say. 

If you want my opinions regarding the show itself, all I can really say is that I saw three separate acts each give a hell of a performance. Akai Solo has the stage presence of someone with far more mileage than he does. The fella knew that a huge chunk of the audience had no idea who he was, but he made damn sure that by the time we left we had figured it out. That’s commendable.

 

After the Armand Hammer set, I retreated to a new position at the bar, where I could lean to rest my weary back, and knees, and the rest of me. It was from this vantage point that I viewed the Injury Reserve set while Dane stood in line behind a literal giant. 

From the Phoenix show on 3/4

As Injury Reserve took the stage, the energy was genuinely palpable and, with the generally claustrophobic environment, the sound was borderline overpowering. The flashing lights and absolute blast of sound, combined with the fact that this venue was no less than 371 degrees Fahrenheit, absolutely obliterated my senses. Yes, folks, in conclusion, I think I may have experienced short term ego death at an Injury Reserve show. 

10/10, no notes, recommend.

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Please give us another month to fully recover from this experience. In the comments below, give us some good, low-key GA concerts that are within an hour of Lexington, KY, and we'll consider making the trip.

- Slone & Ritter