So, after many years and missed opportunities, I have finally seen DJ Shadow spin live. And as an added treat, Cut Chemist was there as well. Touring their final leg of the "Hard Sell," I think I chose a good time to finally be available to see them create textured soundscapes to retreat and revel in.
I came a little late to the show because I'm old and tired now after I come back from work. Adulthood really does slow you down a bit. But once I stepped up to the ticket window and picked up my will-calls, I felt young again, rad.
As I stepped through the double doors, there they were, Shadow on the left and Chemist on the right. And in front of them, eight turntables, effect boards galore, and foot pedals to ensure they just would not stand bored with their hands busy.
After a short intro video on the history of the 45, they jumped right in, slowly at first, building and removing, sort of like an architect with a pencil and pad, drawing out designs and modifying and deleting as necessary. It would be a little challenging for some, building and destroying, moving forward and turn back, to the side, up, down, all around. Then, they hit the groove on one record and off we went to music nirvana.
Now, if you haven't seen or listened to their collaborations in the past, you should know they have some sort of foundation. With Brainfreeze and Product Placement, they stuck to soul, or Funk 45s, limiting themselves so they can truly experiment with what they got and build from there.
With this tour, they stuck to 45s, but expanded their palette to include hip hop, r&b, rock, etc. And it was good. Everything from the Beastie Boys to Foo Fighters to Metallica to Aaliyah to De La Soul was included. I do not know how they found a path to go from one to the other, but it was there and they took it.
Chemist seemed a little more reserved than usual, and Shadow was being Shadow, but I guess they were mainly focused on the music. Overall, it was a good 2 hours of sounds, blips, beeps, and portable DJing that helped me escape the monotony of a Wednesday night.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
The Kills and Cure
Finally, I'm sort of back on track for concert reviews since I've got some time.
The Kills, composed of a British guy and an expat from Florida that make garagy-type music if you want to file it under a title. Their latest, Midnight Boom, is a bit more polished than their earlier records, but that sheen has provoked some good rhythmic beats and sing-song that translate well live at the Black Cat.
They opened with "U.R.A Fever," not exactly being totally original by opening with the first song off their new record, but surprisingly appropriate to introduce themselves to an audience. With Jamie clad in a leather and Alison in her becoming signature leopard-print coat, they interacted with each other providing musicality from his guitar, her voice overs, and a drum machine. Very sparse, yet muscular in tone and presence.
Mainly sticking to their latest to provide musical foliage for the evening, some standouts included "Alphabet," "Cheap + Cheerful," "What NY Used to Be," and the highlight for me being "Last Days of Magic." That guitar that maintains through the song, and Alison's voice, man, one of the best songs of '08.
Opening for them was Telepathe, a four-piece from Brooklyn with some weird abstract, dance beats and three front women interacting with each other on vocal duties. There was a guitarist, but I rarely heard any sound from him, weird. But nice people to talk to after the show and discuss non-sensical tour routes with.
The week after, the Cure, what can you say about these guys except they are legends. Opening with "Plainsong," with the sparkly backdrop matching the sounds of the song in the beginning, awesome. And they've been around for so long that there was not a bad song in the set list. "Lullably," "Fascination Street," "Love Song", "Just Like Heaven," and even "Pornography;" which is my favorite Cure song. After nearly three hours of wall-to-wall music, I had to throw in the towel due to fatigue and leave, first time I have ever left a concert before the encore. I swear they had at least another hour or two in them, they don't make bands like that anymore. So, if you have not yet seen the Cure live, do it. And wear comfortable shoes because some amount of droning, or dancing, will occur. You can't fight the Cure.
The Kills, composed of a British guy and an expat from Florida that make garagy-type music if you want to file it under a title. Their latest, Midnight Boom, is a bit more polished than their earlier records, but that sheen has provoked some good rhythmic beats and sing-song that translate well live at the Black Cat.
They opened with "U.R.A Fever," not exactly being totally original by opening with the first song off their new record, but surprisingly appropriate to introduce themselves to an audience. With Jamie clad in a leather and Alison in her becoming signature leopard-print coat, they interacted with each other providing musicality from his guitar, her voice overs, and a drum machine. Very sparse, yet muscular in tone and presence.
Mainly sticking to their latest to provide musical foliage for the evening, some standouts included "Alphabet," "Cheap + Cheerful," "What NY Used to Be," and the highlight for me being "Last Days of Magic." That guitar that maintains through the song, and Alison's voice, man, one of the best songs of '08.
Opening for them was Telepathe, a four-piece from Brooklyn with some weird abstract, dance beats and three front women interacting with each other on vocal duties. There was a guitarist, but I rarely heard any sound from him, weird. But nice people to talk to after the show and discuss non-sensical tour routes with.
The week after, the Cure, what can you say about these guys except they are legends. Opening with "Plainsong," with the sparkly backdrop matching the sounds of the song in the beginning, awesome. And they've been around for so long that there was not a bad song in the set list. "Lullably," "Fascination Street," "Love Song", "Just Like Heaven," and even "Pornography;" which is my favorite Cure song. After nearly three hours of wall-to-wall music, I had to throw in the towel due to fatigue and leave, first time I have ever left a concert before the encore. I swear they had at least another hour or two in them, they don't make bands like that anymore. So, if you have not yet seen the Cure live, do it. And wear comfortable shoes because some amount of droning, or dancing, will occur. You can't fight the Cure.
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