Sold out shows with crowds like the one packed into the Granada on Saturday can really go two ways: the fans either get so rowdy that they’re hard to contain, or you have performers who know just how to work them. Because of the performers at the helm on this night, the vibe was absolutely fantastic.

Prof, along with fellow Minnesotans Cashinova and J. Plaza, and Maryland’s C Dot Castro brought an energy to the stage we haven’t seen in a long time. There’s a reason so many of the fans at this show drove in from out-of-state. An infectious energy took over the room (no easy task at a sold out show) because all four performers were absolute showmen. It’s not easy for a single performer to keep the vibe so high and avoid being swallowed by the stage, but the show was structured strategically with short, easily digestible sets and little to no downtime between all four acts (with C Dot Castro and J. Plaza overlapping a great chunk of their sets together to create a sort of buddy comedy to their feel).

It felt less like a show, and more like an experience. All four acts had a bit of snark and cheekiness to them, but they countered that with sharp wit and rhymes at breakneck speeds. We’re filing this under one of our top ten shows of the year.