OUTKAST, with guest Ludacris in concert at the E Center on Thursday, March 29, 7:30 p.m.; one performance only.
OutKast brought a bunch of heavy rhythms, quick-paced rhymes and a killer of a sound system to the E Center Thursday night.
The audience, which didn't quite fill half the arena, still did its best to jump, bounce, dance and wave around. The show was literally one big dance fest. And it was fun . . . until the simulated sex acts.
Near the close of the evening, three of OutKast's male line dancers sexually humiliated three clothed female dancers onstage, to the cheers of the audience. Sure it might have been an act, but the show still could have stood strong without it.
It was interesting, however, to see the aforementioned suggestive acts right before Andre 3000 and Big Boi chided the parents in the audience who were shunning the responsibility of parenthood.
About an hour earlier, OutKast — composed of the Georgia-based rapping duo Andre (Andre Benjamin) and Big Boi (Antwan Patton) — burst onto the stage, which included two backup singers, two guitarists and a disc jockey.
"Skew It on the Bar-B" and "Art of Storytellin' Part I," both from the album "Aquemini," got the audience rapping along with the flamboyant Andre, who emerged wearing a gold leopard-patterned outfit, and Boi, who basically played it low-key with just a football jersey and dark jeans.
"Southernplayalisticcaddilacmusic," from the album of the same name, and "Player's Ball" were other well-timed works that thundered through the venue.
Other grinding beats included "Wheelz of Steel," from "ATLiens," and the new single "So Fresh So Clean," from the duo's latest release "Stankonia," were executed within a tight, crisp mix. But there was enough spontaneity in the performance to keep the audience bouncing — although, there were a couple of times when those in the audience appeared sluggish after a run of high-energy tunes.
Still, the musicians and rappers did their thing well, and by the time the breakthrough hit "Ms. Jackson" swept through the system, it was pandemonium.
The program opened with the raw performance and style of Ludacris. While most of the audience knew who this multiplatinum-selling rapper was, the crew-member who manned the spotlight didn't. Ludacris ran on stage and was left in the dark while the other spotlights were zeroed in on his accompanists.
Still, Ludacris tried his best to get the crowd's adrenaline pumping. "Stick 'Em Up," "1st and 10" and "Ho" were some of the fist-pumping anthems rapped from the stage. And though the kids liked what he did, the biggest screams came when he and his band-mates took off their shirts to swing them over their heads.
At first, the mix was a bit unbalanced. Ludacris' frantic, salty rapping at times overtook the music. The crowd could still feel the beat bubbling under the raps, but the intricacy of the scratching was drowned out. That aside, kudos to Ludacris' DJ. The man scratched and spun the turntables with his fingers, hands, elbows and chin without losing the pace.
E-MAIL: scott@desnews.com