Scenes from Doomtree Blowout VII, Night 4 (P.O.S.)

Good thing Ben Ivascu isn't actually a member of the Doomtree crew. If he were, there's no way the drummer-about-town could recover in time to deliver the goods on Friday and Saturday nights after Wednesday's installment in the Doomtree Blowout VII series. I'm a little afraid P.O.S. might have actually overdone it Wednesday, too.

Night 4's headliner and curator in the 7th Street Entry marathon, P.O.S. recruited Ivascu to drum with him for most of his set. Which would have been no big thing if Ivascu also wasn't the drummer in Wednesday's two opening acts, Polica and Marijuana Deathsquads. Even that might have mattered little, except P.O.S. then proceeded to work the guy mercilessly like a warhorse, starting with – what else? – the hard-charging bruiser "Drumroll (We're All Thirsty)."

The hardcore/punky aspects of that one and other songs like "Terrorish," "Never Better" and "Optimist" come through loudest and heaviest when a drummer is involved, and Ivascu lit up their manic energy like a match to a fireworks warehouse. When a fan shouted out a request for a drum solo toward the end, P.O.S. responded on Ivascu's behalf with an exasperated, "Are you serious?!" (Ben's response was to play an intentionally limp-wristed, be-boppy drum bit and leave it at that.)

After a year in which the real-life Stef Alexander performed more in other projects (namely the Deathsquads) than as P.O.S, Wednesday's thrill ride of set served as a solid reminder of just how well the rapper can command a local audience. He did so solo at first with only Plain Ole Bill on the decks behind him for "Goodbye" and "Music for Shoplifting." But the guests started taking the stage almost immediately.

First came Astronautalis, who joined in for one of the tracks that he and P.O.S. have allegedly recorded under the name Four Fists (I'll keep saying "allegedly" until they finally release that damn record). Then came Sims, for an absolutely spastic "The Basics (Alright)." Mike Mictlan took the stage and helped ignite a dance party. With Ivascu also came Deathsquads screamer Isaac Gale and Polica's Channy Leaneagh filling in for Ryan Olson on electronics ("Ryan's kind of a jerk, and Channy has a pretty voice," P.O.S. joked). Things culminated into the nearest thing to a full Doomtree assemblage yet, with four of the five rappers on stage for "Low Light Low Life."

Conspicuously missing from the action: Cecil Otter. The last of the Entry headliners takes over tonight.

Click here for Leslie Plesser's Vita.mn photo gallery from Night 4.