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Muttpop Bob's musings and rants for all things Muttpop, toys, videogames, hip-hop, and whatever else he's thinking of. |
Monday, June 25, 2007
Hard Sell: DJ Shadow + Cut Chemist
My sister bought me tickets to DJ SHADOW and CUT CHEMIST's "Hard Sell" Show at the Hollywood Bowl. Man, what a show! Seeing these guys perform revitalizes my musical spirit at a time when there's very little to look forward to in mainstream Hip-Hop. "Hard Sell" was DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist's attempt to revisit what they established in their legendary "Brain Freeze" and "Product Placement" performances. All records used were original 45's played on 1 of 8 record players on stage. Everything was done in real time with only a guitar loop machine used to occasionally loop a sampled beat that is recorded in front of the audience. In and of itself, the performance was awesome. Both DJ's skills are as sharp as they've ever been and the visuals complemented the musical themes of their sets perfectly. But what really sealed the deal was the location. Being outdoors on a perfect Los Angeles evening drinking wine and bobbing my head to such an amazing mix of breaks was heavenly!Here's some video from their previous live collaborations:BRAIN FREEZE 1999(Sorry, this file cannot be embedded!)PUSH BUTTON OBJECTS 2004
Comments
David
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Both the Product Placement and In Tune and On Time (that one is DJ Shadow only though) DVDs are seriously worth picking up. I've never had the pleasure of seeing both of them play live, but Cut Chemist I've managed to see live several times (once with Kid Koala). They are vinyl spinning gods.And there may be little to look forward in mainstream hiphop, but if you start looking at more underground artists you'll never want to go back. Something great always around the corner (and even if there wasn't, there would be plenty you, me, and everyone's missed to go back to).
Muttpop Bob
Thursday, May 31, 2007
DAVID:Thanks for your post. I completely agree. These days I'm digging the latest El-P album and really look forward to what Pharoah Monche is up to. I heard about 5 tracks off of Pharoah's latest...and lyrically, he continues to be brilliant.I cool little side note: I was Spanish partners with Cut Chemist in Spanish 2 at UCLA back in 1997. This was way before he blew up with Jurassic5, Ozomatli, and on his own. I ended up bumping into him years later and discovered that yup, he was my Spanish partner AND, yup, he's Cut Chemist. He's a super cool guy.
The Fake Kim Fowley
Thursday, May 31, 2007
I have to kindly disagree with your review of the show. I was there too and I thought that it was really under-rehearsed and disappointing. The best part was the Ode to Prince Paul/3 Feet High set when they slapped together (in real time) live versions of Jenifa, Potholes in my Lawn, Plug Tunin' and more. That was thrilling and the "Passin' Me By" mix was on point, but I thought the rest of the show was pretty weak... and I worship those guys. If you're going to spin records in front of 17,000 people, you have to do a better job than that. Just my 2 cents.
Muttpop Bob
Thursday, May 31, 2007
THE FAKE KIM FOWLEY SAID...:It's all good. To each his own. I liked the homages ("What kind of appliance would you like to be? I'd like to be a Plug!")...and thoroughly enjoyed the entire performance. I liked the laid back demeanor and it seemed liked the crowd was into it. The fact that the hour + set felt like it all happened in less than 10 minutes assures that I give the whole thing my thumbs up. Plus that intro ROCKED. :-) Either way, thank for your opinion!-Muttpop Bob