ABOVE: Original members "Fresh Kid Ice" and "Brother Marquis" (eventually) turn the Fat Cat into a hotbed of hip hop and sexual shenanigans.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I headed into the Fat Cat to see 2 Live Crew.

I was too young to have really been a fan of theirs during their original run, but they have a notoriety that tends to bridge small generational gaps. Plus, as I got older, I grew to appreciate their advancements in the fields of both gratuitous swearing and party rap.

If there was one thing I could expect, it was that 2 Live Crew was coming to party, even if Luke wasn’t there.

They apparently didn’t come to party with us though as they stayed in the back for a majority of the night while other local DJs performed (DJs perform right? Or is it scratched? Spun? I’m not really up on the terms). They did keep a steady stream of women coming in and out from the backstage area, as one would probably expect from the guys who wrote “Me So Horny”.

When they finally did decide to come out, mass confusion reigned.

At sometime around 12:30 in the morning, someone got on the mic and invited all of the hot women in attendance that weren’t already on stage to get up on stage for what I think was a tryout for the new 2 Live Crew music video. Of course, they didn’t say how to get on stage, so multiple women of questionable sobriety and hotness tried to just jump up, much to the dismay of the Fat Cat security.

They also started and stopped the music the women were dancing to about three times. Apparently, we weren’t partying enough because the DJ who was decidedly not a member of 2LC kept asking us if we were ready. At 12:45am the crowd was getting kind of restless as the area I was situated in (right in front of the stage, more on that later) went from excited cheering to frustrated yells to hurry up.

Finally, Fresh Kid Ice made his way out from the back for what appeared to be a sound check as he stopped mid-song (at least I think it was mid-song) to tell the sound guy to adjust the monitors. Brother Marquis came out after the technical issues were sorted out and the Fat Cat was ready to party, South Beach style.

I initially tried to take some pictures of the on-stage debauchery, but I quickly realized about 80% of the photos I was getting weren’t fit to be published, including a photo of Brother Marquis pulling one of their hired dancer’s bikini bottoms to the side so she could…well, I’m going to leave it up to you to look up 2LC’s music catalog and guess which song title fits best.

They had about three or four strippers they had hired to dance on stage with them, which isn’t too abnormal for a hip hop show. What stunned me though was the fact that the men in the crowd at the Fat Cat reacted like they had never seen a scantily clad woman before, even though they had just been dancing with the scantily clad women of Modesto.

The guys near in the front near the stage pawed at the women and were warned repeatedly to not slap that…um, behind.

It wasn’t just the guys who were a tad bit handsy; one woman had a vice-like grip on the crotchal region of Brother Marquis anytime he came within five feet of her. Poor Marquis was getting a solid jab to the stones every time he walked by her.

Past those problems, the show was actually pretty fun. They sang most of their hits (unfortunately leaving out “Banned in the USA”) and sprinkled in some new stuff in a set lasting about an hour.

Having not heard the new stuff before, I think I can now safely say that the group is sorely missing Luke and Mr. Mixx.

The show itself ended as confusingly as it started. Fresh Kid Ice said something unintelligible into the mic (because he was holding it against his lips), and like that they disappeared to the back while their strippers threw CD flyers at us.

The scene exiting the Fat Cat was one to behold: 11 cop cars (and one horse) were outside. I wasn’t really sure what required the massive police presence outside, but the message was clear.

2 Live Crew had been here.

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