Scarub of Living Legends, 9/18, Boomers (photo by Max Plenke)

Local rapper/promoter HighDro outdid himself (and a handful of the other promoters) with the Sept. 18 show at Boomers, for the third night of Neon Reverb. Granted, the show began shakily with a dormant, bar-glued 30-man audience at 10:30 p.m. Experimental rapper Bent Self, who sounded like a one-man Nine Inch Nails, fell on deaf ears. But only 30 minutes later, local wordsmith Mr. Ebranes, backed by DJ Phoenix Orion, kicked off a soulful, unexpectedly energetic set — a total character shift for a dude who usually hosts hip-hop shows with a hazy-eyed, ready-for-bed disposition — in front of 60-70 attentive, hands-raised patrons. The crowd only got rowdier when local lady lyricist Youthinasia hopped on stage and assisted Ebranes in delivering an emotional love rap to their genre (“Damn hip-hop, you’re beautiful”).

At 1:05, rowdy was only the tip of the iceberg. When headliner Scarub (from the L.A.-based Living Legends crew) showed up with fellow Afro Classics rapper Very, the walls in the Boomers back room felt like they were closing in. The audience turned from head-bobbers to an exited, “throw your hands in the air like you just don’t care” mess of people. When Scarub starting rhyming over a sample of Afrika Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock”, girls in front broke out what looked like an angry two-step, rocking back and forth like they were teaching someone a lesson.

While Afro Classics rocked arguably the best set of the night, Rakaa of Dilated Peoples showed no interest in playing a calmer set at 2 a.m. despite a few people clearing out. He skipped the foreplay and immediately dug into “C.T.D.” from his July 2010 release, Crown of Thorns. Recognition of the tune’s sample (Martha & The Vandellas’ “Heat Wave”) brought a second heat to a resilient audience, still staying on their feet, bobbing along as Rakaa plowed through “Assault & Battery” and “Delilah,” the single from Crown which had almost 50 people singing along (”Oohh-ooo-oh, she lie”).

By that point, the front bar area had completely cleared out, leaving only the bustling back room full of real hip-hop supporters. But for enthusiasm and support, the Boomers crew won Neon Reverb weekend.