Live: Kendrick Lamar and Best Coast at vitaminwater uncapped Portland

Photographer Justin Kent
July 12, 2012

The biggest crowd reaction during last night's Portland installment of the vitaminwater uncapped music series didn't come for the angelic longing of Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino, nor the nimble mic command of rhyme prodigy Kendrick Lamar. It didn't even come when the two paired up, performing an exclusive version of Lamar's "No Make-Up (Her Vice)." It came, instead, for a Portland kid named Kenny. Kenny, pulled up on stage by Lamar, tore the house down when he delivered a high energy rendition of Lamar's "Look Out For Detox" immediately after Lamar performed it, proving that great rapping begets even greater fanhood and nothing sells like someone from the home team. "This right here is something you can't buy with one hit record on the radio," Lamar proclaimed proudly, his arm around a sweat drenched Kenny. Kenny would go on to play hypeman (and on "Rigamortis," lead-man) for roughly half of Lamar's set, rapping along to songs from Lamar's highly acclaimed Section.80 as if he'd written them himself. One of few times he didn't share the stage was when Lamar brought out Cosentino to help him out with "No Make-Up (Her Vice)." With a woman's touch, the Best Coast singer made the song even smoother.

Before Kendrick though, Best Coast played to an elated crowd, fans gripping cold Heinekens while snaking in between the gigantic, Willy Wonka-ish bike track inside Portland's The Lumberyard BMX park, trying to get a better look at the surf rock princess. From "Crazy For You" to "The Only Place" to "Boyfriend," Best Coast had the crowd in a trance throughout their set. After, it was DJ Rescue (bka Zia of the Dandy Warhols) to the rescue, playing an eclectic mix of highly danceable tunes from Prince, M.I.A. and the old party failsafe, Bel Biv Devoe's "Poison." By the time Kendrick Lamar closed the show with his Dr. Dre collab "The Recipe," Portland had seen the absolute best of very different worlds.

Check out the vitaminwater YouTube channel for exclusive footage from the show. uncapped continues throughout the summer; see scheduled concert dates in the sidebar on this page and sign up for our mailing list to RSVP when we hit your town.

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Live: Kendrick Lamar and Best Coast at vitaminwater uncapped Portland