Daily Bread x RJD2 October 6th, 2018
This past Saturday a few of us headed to see our good friend and dope as hell music monster Rhett Whatley (aka Daily Bread) open up for none other than RJD2 at The Variety Playhouse. Talking with Rhett leading up to the show he told us he would dial in some all-access passes if we came out for a damn good time. So you best believe we did.
Myself, John (ABC Buyer) and the other Jon (OG ABC) headed out to arrive for soundcheck around 6:30 or so and seeing Rhett’s name on the marquee upon arrival was dope as hell. I mean…RJD2 and Daily Bread? Variety has gone under some renovation in recent years…and it’s much more open of a venue now and the front bar is open on all sides. We walked down to the stage and see Rhett and we take the tour backstage to the green room and proceed to catch up like old times. It’s soundcheck time by now and we post up in the empty theater and listen to RJD2 iron out some tunes and then Rhett and Obeah. WE. ARE. STOKED. at this point.
Before I get ahead of myself I must admit that my trusty old Nikon D3 w/ 50 mm was my weapon of choice for the night. I’ve shot hundreds of shows over the past 15+ years with it…and after a bit I noticed my autofocus was shot. Like…maybe the camera got dropped a few weeks ago, but…anyway…I did the best with what I had. Just like going into battle – use your weapon to the best of your ability.
With showtime quickly approaching and bodies piling in, the vibe was instantly set when Rhett dropped his new joint “Atlanta” featuring Sugar Tongue Slim.
Electric. Vibes were now at an all-time high. John and Jon were posted up at the back bar with a bird’s-eye view and arguably where the best sound was (sound guy was just under them) and I was floating through the crowd, backstage, side stage…where ever really. I wanted to just capture the evening as best I could. I was really overjoyed/overwhelmed for Rhett and all that he has been doing up to this point. I definitely think his Red Rocks Show with Pretty Lights was a record high, but for me being a big RJD2 fan, this was my highlight for him and almost any show I’ve ever been to.
Daily Bread x Obeah absolutely crushed it. They had so many killer moments in their relatively short 45-minute set. Obeah is a knockout on the mic and on the turntables, and Sugar Tongue Slim killed it.
So my RJD2 story is a pretty quick one from that night. After the homies played there was a 10-15 minute interlude were we all caught up and congratulated him on this show and then I quickly went backstage, as I wanted to see RJD2 get ready to do the damn thing. As I was standing where the artists walk up the stage this crazy ass creature comes running up the stairs and it freaked me the hell out. I couldn’t grab my camera fast enough.
I snapped this blurry image at the same time the creature says to me, “You ready to fucking do this!” Just me and RJ (we’re obviously boys now). He creeps up the stairs just behind the curtain and yells back at me, “Tell them I ready now. It’s fucking showtime!” Like a more handsome version of CJ Parker running down the beach I sprinted to the sound guy and yelled, “HE IS READY!” Hauled ass to backstage and proceed to watch a master at his craft for a few jams then met back up with the crew to watch the show.
It was one for the books. We, of course, went out and bar hopped and talked about the show all night over several beverages, met new friends, and spread the gospel of Daily Bread, just some kid I gave a record player to 10 years ago. Who could have known…
Make sure you follow Daily Bread and all the Philos Record crew for future dates. We’ll see you at a show soon.
A Photo Gallery of the Night:
