Group X ' da shaith '

Last Friday night at the Brandyhouse on Roswell Rd. the Arabian hip hop sensation Group X took to the stage and treated the audience to a set of their characteristic " haip hohp. "

Opening for them was Kush, a band that ended up being much better than expected. In the set, Group X offered up three covers of American " craipshaith " songs, which were more parodies than covers. The show also included two guys performing the show in sign language, apparently one in English and one in Arabic.

The group has gained a cult following over its years of performing and recording, and has had its music put to several internet Flash animations. At their Brandyhouse show, they played a variety of new and old, well-known and lesser-known.

Crowd favorites included " Mario Twins " (of " shiggity shiggity shwa " fame) and " Pay For Your Gas or Lose Your ID. "

Crowd interaction was plentiful as Hashmeer Shashmeer kept spraying the crowd with water and invited some of the crowd to dance onstage for their encore.

The song they played, " Schfifty Five, " according to DJ Hashmeer, the group had never performed in their 33 years of playing live.

The group hails from Cramshananteen, Saudi Arabia. Check them out at their website, www.groupxarab.com. With the entire text printed in English with an Arabic accent, the site is an accurate and appropriate reflection of the vibe and the phenomenon that is Group X.