SEATTLE — Everything old was new again at the opening night of the Spitkicker tour, featuring De la Soul and Common, Wednesday night at the Showbox club.

Fans were treated to a history lesson, from the hip-hop renaissance beats of Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek — performing as Reflection Eternal — to the old-school hits of Biz Markie and the happy hip-hop of headliners De la Soul.

In anticipation of their upcoming CD, Art Official Intelligence, De la Soul ran through more than an hour of highlights from their long career, including a spare but rousing version of their 1989 radio hit, "Me, Myself and I" (RealAudio excerpt), for which the sold-out audience provided the well-known melody while Posdnous and Trugoy the Dove rhymed and led the crowd.

Low Maintenance, High Energy

Dressed down in T-shirts and long shorts, De la Soul effortlessly maintained the audience's energy level throughout their set, despite coming on the tail end of a long night of hip-hop. Just when it seemed the excitement might flag, De la Soul would launch into a beloved beat and immediately everyone would throw their hands in the air with glee.

De la Soul plugged their new album throughout the set, teasing the audience with the names of their long list of collaborators, including rappers Busta Rhymes and the Beastie Boys and R&B singer Chaka Khan. Trugoy pulled a young audience member onstage, anointing him as a true hip-hop fan. Later, the young man, 12-year-old Colin Matsui from Seattle, said that he was "sorta surprised" to be singled out by De la Soul. But then he remembered, "That's happened to me before, at an Arsonists show."

"Breakadawn" was a highlight of the set for Shingirai Marangwanda, 21, of in Seattle. " 'Breakadawn' was off the hook. Mad props to De la. What an electrifying performance. The show was hot, the fans were crazy. It was the best hip-hop performance I've seen in Seattle."

Later, Pasemaster Mase came out from behind the turntables, took off his T-shirt and rubbed his round belly as he repeated, "You don't want to bust that sh--." Then Biz Markie joined the group for a short rendition of his "Just a Friend" (RealAudio excerpt), during which Biz also bared his belly.

Common Reveals Sense of Style

Before De la Soul, Common proved he could keep fans' hands in the air with ease. Common wore a black T-shirt with cut-off sleeves and a pair of cargo pants, but in between each song he ran behind a big video screen, which had a direct feed for those who couldn't see the stage, to change his outfit slightly. He came out once in a black beret and black overcoat, then in a red vest and a cap with a yellow pom-pom and finally in a beige ski hat as he played through new songs, such as "The Light," and older ones. He was joined by Talib Kweli for "Respiration," by Kweli's band Black Star.

Common also broke out some b-boy moves, while his DJ scratched, to squeals of delight from the crowd.

"Common is a showman," said Charles Mudede, 31, of Seattle. "He does everything you want at a hip-hop concert. [Sometimes] I have problems with Common, but tonight he stuck to his old songs, like 'Resurrection,' which are stronger than his new songs. He also showed his command of hip-hop history, flowing over beats like Run-D.M.C.'s 'Sucka MCs.' ... When you see Common, Biz Markie and De la Soul, you are in a sort of church of hip-hop history."

The crowd was diverse in age, but everyone seemed to be of like mind. "I liked how Biz Markie was spinning old school and scratching," said Janell Moore, 19, of Kirkland, Wash. "And Common's DJ was phat — scratching with his elbows and spinning around."

Most fans were exposed to at least one new artist on the bill, and most came away happy. Kansas, a 28-year-old Seattlite, said he was "really impressed by Pharoahe Monch's flow. He was energetic, and he just grabbed the crowd and wouldn't let go. The whole show was the best I've seen in a long, long time."