3/08/2004 07:39:00 AM|W|P|Danny Eagle|W|P| Spooked by a series of so-so singles and rumors of a third AOI album which never arrived, I was wondering if De La Soul had finally fallen off. I'm happy to report that De La Soul lives and the show wasn't a geriatric reunion tour. Having blazed new trails in hip hop several times, De La Soul seemed impervious to the classic "we'll try to stick with the trends" type of bullshit and came out like their regular old selves. With Celtics jerseys and doo rags nowhere to be seen, De La confidently took the stage and took control of an apathetic crowd, reminding a Sunday audience that it was Saaaaturday. The Middle East Downstairs is a great place for a hip hop show. True, it's a club fire waiting to happen, but the low ceilings and high heat always contribute to a club victory, and you leave deaf, drunk and dirty with a fat grin on. The club also tests the mettle of performers by almost always having technical difficulties. Whereas I've seen the likes of Kool Keith fall apart under the very same circumstances, Plugs 1, 2 and 3 were relaxed and happy to be in Boston. The show kicked off with an easy to love Tribe Called Quest set and went on to recap some of De La's greatest moments from the days of 3 Feet High and Rising all the way up to their last AOI single, Shoomp. Feeling gently pushed out of today's hip hop world, many who thrived on and loved early nineties hip hop often feel as though their favorite rap is, well, old as shit. De La seemed to me to be the comfortable older siblings of hip hop, a couple years ahead reporting back that rap does grow up, and can still be good. They proved that good hip hop can age and in their case, age well.|W|P|107876042767562572|W|P|De La Soul | Middle East, Cambridge|W|P|scottlmoe@gmail.com