3 Loco at Cervantes' Masterpiece Ballroom, 5/17/13

3 LOCO @ CERVANTES' MASTERPIECE BALLROOM | 5/17/13 First there was silence. Then there was hysterical screaming, as Andy Milonakis walked on stage. "Pussy, pussy, pussy, marijuana," he rapped over and over again. Yup. This was definitely a 3 Loco show. What a curse 3 Loco faces; they're completely average when they take themselves seriously, occasionally laughably bad. But when they're just goofing off, they're oh-so-good. Luckily, it's much more of the latter than the former, and, hey, either way, you're laughing.

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The thing that makes you weary about a 3 Loco show is that their catalog is extremely thin. There's a little bit of fear going in as to what C-side tracks the audience might be subjected to. Fortunately, the group wasn't afraid to dip into the individual song pools of RiFF RaFF and Dirt Nasty, and, as a result, kept the show consistently hyped.

The group's biggest star at the moment is RiFF RaFF, who recently signed to Diplo's Mad Decent label, bringing 3 Loco with him. RiFF, who's known for eccentric fashion sense, came out dressed in a shirt imprinted with what he would probably call, "Obtuse angled macaroni pictures," or something similar. Per usual, he made no ostensible sense, and it was wonderful. Also per usual, he said "Versace" a lot, as a descriptor for everything from lettuce to tile flooring. I lost count at ten Versace mentions.

Dirt Nasty used to be a porn star, a fact which he neither promotes nor retreats from. Instead, he laces his rhymes with the kind of explicit content you might expect to find in a pornographic comedy. He performed one song called "Animal Lover," which is exactly what is sounds like, in which he rhymes, "Snakes got weird pussies/It's like putting your dick in another dick that's juicy." Dirt hit the peak of his career (thus far) in 2007 after his inclusion on Mickey Avalon's hit, "My Dick," and "1980," off his own album, both of which he performed.

Andy Milonakis, the unquestionable third banana of the group, adds an important dynamic. He's so loveable and cute, the obscenities that stream from his mouth are granted an automatic degree of hilarity just due to the unlikeliness of it all. He actually has some decent rhymes, too; "I get more pie than pi has digits" was the one that stuck out the most.

Indeed, if the 3 Loco show was a film, it would be a character study, probably with no discernible narrative, because the strength of the group lies not in the songs it performs, but the personas its members put on. There is no theme, no objective but relative chaos and certainly no moral.

The show was also short on morals (as in standards). At one point, Milonakis invited any women who were willing to show their boobs and get on stage. Throughout the show, the crew's hypeman were pouring liquor -- beer, Maker's Mark, anything -- into any open mouth they saw.

The show was opened by BMBC, Pike and MTHDS in that order, each of whom brought a distinct style to the table. Where BMBC was more traditional than any of the other acts, Pike's music was twinged with metal and grunge influence. But there was a appreciable difference in energy between MTHDS and its predecessors. As far as local acts go, MTHDS is top-notch -- well-practiced and in-sync with interesting stylistic influences ranging from Gypsy punk to straight-ahead funk.

Personal Bias: As I was driving home from the 3 Loco show, listening to Big K.R.I.T. and Bun B on "Shine On," I couldn't help but recognize that none of the three locos who played Cervantes' that night will ever be as skilled as the two I was listening to just then. Then again, I've also been to a Big K.R.I.T. show, too, and I had a helluva lot more fun last night.

Random Note: The crowd predictably went off when Dirt Nasty rapped, "Then she dropped to her knees and did the Tim Tebow" during "Neato."

By The Way: Having seen only Dirt Nasty and Andy Milonakis live before, it's way better to see all three at once.