“And may God be merciful, because these twisted men will not.” ― Brom, The Child Thief
I’ve been to the Lookout Lounge, in Omaha, Nebraska, countless times and I cannot remember this joint being as packed as it was on April 26 2018. This was a Thursday night to boot. Normally I can get right up front to photograph a show, especially for the opening acts, but on this night, there was no room up front so I made my way as close to the stage as possible and readied myself for the show.
DJ Maddix was already hard at work warming up the crowd not long after, our host Justin Strawstone jumped on stage, called up a young fella from the crowd who began the chant that would be repeated all night long “Magic, magic, ninja what.. WHOOP, WHOOP. Family!! Strawstone continued hyping and warming up the crowd by providing some of his own rap.
Next up was Evil Squad. A trio made up of Rowdy Jesus and Big Dawg and Jamazz, on this night Jamazz must have had the night off. Regardless, Big Dawg and Rowdy Jesus put had a great set. Their vocal skills were amazing and Rowdy Jesus has a very unique voice that may have been my favorite of the evening.
The next act to take the stage was JoNasty. This was a male / female duo whom I also enjoyed. They had me feeling young again.
Psych B, an Omaha icon in the hip hop scene admitted to not having preformed for a while, but you could have fooled me. This man was spectacular. A fast as ever and he was really enjoying and feeding off the crowd. At one point somebody yelled take off your shirt and he obliged hence exposing the great art work that covered nearly his entire upper body.
Up next was Horrorcore Omaha legend Komatose. This guys lyrics are as dark as you’ll hear. When he plucked a girl out from the crowd and stood over her with his mask right in her face, I felt bad for her, but then I noticed she didn’t fear him at all, but instead was smiling and really enjoying the moment.
Last to perform was the duo of Jamie Madrox and Monoxide also known as Twiztid. From the very start they took the breath from the crowd and would not let them catch it again the entire evening. They have an incredible stage presence that keeps the crowd mesmerized. It really all when insane when they did their horrorcore song Kill Somebody. The fans were beside themselves, screaming back lyrics and jumping with bad intentions. This was a great show and the Lookout Lounge needs to be commended for hosting this incredible event.
I also want to personally thank everybody that’s a part of the Lookout Lounge for their generous treatment of this 58 year old photographer. From front door to security, I was made to feel like a VIP. Thanks.
– Dean Birkheimer, Photojournalist for Go Venue Magazine [All photos by Dean Birkheimer, otherwise noted]