1. If anyone had to leave after Monday’s opening set, they still got their $22 worth. Rappers Edan and Paten Locke put together one of the most entertaining, well-designed hip-hop performances I’ve witnessed in years, a perfect pairing for the headlining fun to come. Edan, a Pitchfork darling in the mid-2000s who hasn’t dropped a full-length record in nine years, proved he’s still got mic chops for miles, while Locke, a Floridian without an official Facebook page, served notice that he could be a name to know before long. Both men rapped (with unusual lyrical clarity), scratched and beatboxed, and Edan played acoustic guitar and kazoo. An impressive display of versatility and skill.

2. Edan also won the phrase of the night award—“equilibrius flourishes”—while giving thanks for life’s undervalued treasures.

3. Six turntables awaited DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist when the two iconic DJs stepped to the stage for their Renegades of Rhythm tribute to living hip-hop legend Afrika Bambaataa, or more specifically his record collection. Those crates of vinyl—which, Shadow explained, could be considered the seeds of hip-hop’s sound and popularity in the decades since—comprised the night’s music, as the DJs cycled Bambaataa’s original LPs through their platters. They did so artfully, with regard to era and genre—funk, disco, Latin, jazz—during a nearly-two-hour musical journey that doubled as a history lesson with a never-ending beat.

4. The night’s onscreen visuals, designed by longtime Shadow collaborator Ben Stokes, enhanced the performance immensely. Album covers, maps tracing Bambaataa’s influence (and influences) and scenes from the New York streets rolled through the show, putting the sonics in excellent context.

5. Vegas came through. I’d wondered whether the event’s out-of-box formula, coupled with the show falling on a Monday, would keep folks away, but bodies turned out. Brooklyn Bowl is massive, so it was far from full, but the floor and side bar areas were well-populated all night. More importantly, energy stayed high, and the DJs onstage took notice. Here’s hoping that response can pave the way for more of the type of forward-thinking bookings our town has tended to ignore in the past.