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DJ Shadow

Dance/Electronic

DJ Shadow Tickets

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About

The Outsider, the latest album by instrumental hip-hop prodigy DJ Shadow, hits stores in September, and he's currently touring worldwide in support of the release. He gives Ticketmaster the scoop on the new record, his live shows and the state of hip-hop in 2006.

TM: Let's talk about the new album The Outsider. Some have said that it sounds like a collection of singles rather than a unified piece with an overlying theme. Do you agree?
DJ Shadow:
I don't necessarily disagree. I just feel like any album is kind of a snapshot of where an artist is at in that particular (in my case, two years) time-frame in their career. So this album is no more or less than that really—which I think is the same for any other album I've done. I guess what I tried to do is make a record that was really representative of what I'm interested in in music, and represents me well as far as what I like and what I'm about and what I stand for musically. And then at that point it was just a matter of assembling it in such a way that the songs were able to stand on their own, because I felt like all the songs were really dense and just good songs in their own right and I didn't want  to load them up with a bunch of skits and interludes and things just so people felt that it was more album-y. I also felt sort of emboldened by the sort of feeling that things are changing in the way people digest music. I feel like this is a sort of an iTunes mix tape world and...if anything, I thought that people would appreciate that this album is a bit of an anomaly in the market place because it's so diverse. And I also feel that the whole concept of mashing a whole bunch of styles of music into one song is a little bit played out and I kinda wanted the rap songs to be for a rap audience. I didn't want them to be softened for the sake of people who don't ordinarily listen to rap songs—which I think is also unusual because, ordinarily, when rock and rap are on the same album both usually suffer, whereas I wanted both to be pure.

TM: Speaking of styles, you included the hyphy sound and artists on the new album. Were you simply paying homage to your bay area roots, or was it also your intent to bring more attention to the movement? (Hyphy is a hip hop subculture originating from the San Francisco Bay Area)
DJS:
I suppose initially it was the former and then to a lesser extent—but also important—the latter. Initially, as with anything I've ever done, I just sat down at my equipment and did my best to channel my heroes...in this case, as opposed to Bambaataa and Flash and Premier or whoever else I've ever been inspired by, it was Rick Rock and Droopy and Traxamillon and other hyphy artists I listen to when I drive around the bay area. It was that initially and then as the song "3 Freaks" became kind of a local hit and became accepted into the scene and I became, to some extent, accepted into the scene, I've tried to contribute to it because I feel like it's very genuine and ...it's a movement that I believe deserves support.

TM: Rumor has it that you switched up the sound for the latest album because your earlier music has too many imitators. Is this true?
DJS:
Well, it was not in the forefront of my mind but, yeah, you know, I'll be sitting eating my breakfast and I'll be minding my own business reading a music magazine ...or reading online and ...there seemed to be a trend for a while where it was sort of like "forget DJ Shadow, here's the new DJ Shadow!" and I'd think, "well I know this dude's music and he sucks." Know what I mean? And I wouldn't have said that before. I wouldn't have felt comfortable saying something like that to someone like you, no offense, maybe five years ago. But you get a little bit older and you mature a little bit and you feel like you're able to understand where you fit in and who you're better than and who you're not. I can give you five people who I'm not as good as...but there are certain people who I tend to be compared to, like "he's the new you." And I go, "no, that's not really on because I know who I'm better than and who I'm not and I'm definitely better than this dude or that dude!" You know, truth is the truth. (laughs)

TM: I suppose understanding where you fit in is a sign of true maturity as an artist.
DJS:
Yeah.

TM: So you've got a lot of vocals on this new album. How does this affect your tour line up? Are you having a lot of guest vocalists performing with you at shows?
DJS:
I'm having a couple which I think is good because I think it was the only thing that was missing from my last tour. I think that the last tour was great, but if there was one comment that anybody ever offered and I tended to agree with is that it was a shame that there wasn't more of a live dynamic going on. Even though I'm a DJ and I offered as much live entertainment value that any DJ can, especially for that length of time—my shows were like two and a half hours on the last tour—on this tour there are some live elements. Interestingly, I feel like there's parts of my own set that work just as well. I don't know if this set is just tighter and works a lot better than my last show—I don't know. It just seems that the show is working really well right now.

TM: For those who've never seen you live, how would you describe your shows?
DJS:
I'm trying to create a show that's on par or could be compared to entertainment-wise with any type of artist. Lots of times I'll get people, even my own label, who are like "hey, so-and-so wants you to play at their thing," and then later they're like "what do you mean you have a show? You're just a DJ right? You can just go up and spin." There's a real misconception a lot of times as to what different DJs are gonna offer, and there's definitely a value to being the type of DJ who can just jump on any old two turntables and rock a house party, but I'm...playing theaters. I'm playing...the same places where Arctic Monkeys are playing so, for example, I want people (who see both shows) to say "which show did you like better?" and not have it be "well, you can't compare both because one was a DJ and one was a rock band." I want it to hit just as hard as any type of other music out there. I bring a visual element to it. I put a lot of work into giving the show a sense of pace and a sense of movement and sense of timing in the same way that a rock band would. I didn't explain that very well (laughs) but I don't want to give too much of it away either!

TM: Yeah, you don't want to do that! So do you have any really memorable on stage moments?
DJS:
(laughs) Unfortunately the one that came to mind was something that happened in Australia. The sound got turned off in the middle of playing in front of 12,000 people. That was kind of memorable. I sort of had to adlib on the mic for a  few minutes and I was back up and running. It was a little uncomfortable. But I don't know...my most memorable moments (thinks for a while)...unfortunately, because of my personality, they'll tend to be moments when I'm really nervous or ...maybe like when someone threw a bottle and I didn't know how to respond.

TM: So do you prefer smaller, underground venues or larger ones?
DJS:
There are just certain great rooms, and there are certain really nice venues to play. Brixton Academy in London is just a perfect place to play. It's a perfect sized theater for me. There's also a lot of smaller rooms that have the same kind of vibe. There's a place in Melbourne like that. I'm thinking worldwide ‘cause I'm on a worldwide tour right now. I really like the Fillmore in San Francisco and that's a small-ish room. There's a place in Minneapolis I like a lot, can't remember the name of it. But anyway, I like theaters that have a classic vibe to them. I don't like ultra modern rooms that seem like they're made for someone else. I like your classic theaters that have been around for thirty, forty years.

TM: Not including one of your own, what's the last concert you attended?
DJS:
Yesterday I just came back from Japan and saw everybody from Lincoln Park to Massive Attack...a bunch of groups, hundreds of bands it seems like. (Asks himself) Did I see anyone in Australia? (thinks) I'm sure there's a bunch but I just can't remember.

TM: Who are you listening to at the moment?
DJS:
This is a hard question to answer as well. I've been on the road for like two and half months, so I'm not really current and also I grabbed my wrong iPod before I left and everything on there is at least three years old ‘cause I last updated it on a road trip I did in 2003 so it's a bad time to ask me that one! (laughs)

TM: Alright, last question. In a famous interview a while back, you were quoted as saying "hip hop was dying."
DJS:
Which interview, tell me.

TM: I think it was in URB.
DJS:
Yeah, I guess—go ahead.

TM: So in your opinion, what's the state of hip-hop today?
DJS:
It's fine. I think what I was trying to articulate is that...the song title in Endtroducing "Why Hip Hop Sucks in ‘96" was sort of taken out of context a little bit... what I was trying to say at the time was, literally, with Tupac and Biggie getting killed, hip-hop was dying and something needed to change. But a lot of people took those kinds of statements to say I hate commercial hip-hop and I only listen to underground and I'm raising the underground flag and all that kind of stuff which has never ever been the case for me. I've been listening to hip hop for 24 years and whether it be Schooly D, or Ice Cube, or NWA or Ghetto Boys or 8 Ball and MJG or Lil John, I've always listened to hardcore rap—in addition to De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, Blackalicious and whoever else is supposedly more backpacker rap or whatever. I mean I listen to everything—Miami Bass, Latin hip-hop—I'm just really voracious with rap music and music in general. So I listen to it all and rap, I think as demonstrated on my album, is still the main music I listen to. Probably 75% of what I listen to is rap. So I still love it and it's still good.

Reviews

Rating: 4.3 out of 5 based on 64 reviews
  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    Loved it!

    by Beez on 2/15/249:30 CLUB - Washington

    This was a great show...not surprisingly! Holly was great. I really enjoyed his set. The last time I saw DJ Shadow was when I was 24 in Chicago (with Blackalicious). After 20+ years of listening to his stuff, I was excited to see him again and hear some of his collaborations (though way past my bedtime, ha). And this venue was great. Small, easy to find, decent parking, easy in/easy out. The people who work there are nice. It was a sold out show, but not too crowded around the edges of the main level. Drinks were reasonably priced (though I wish they had some canned cocktails like Cutwater). All in all a great experience.

  • Rating: 1 out of 5

    Worst show I’ve ever seen; I left!

    by Rk1321 on 2/14/249:30 CLUB - Washington

    To start, the opener was awful and it sounded like an acoustic nightmare because the bass was too loud. I’ve been a huge fan of DJ Shadow for years (and the 9:30 Club since I was a teenager!) but this was a disaster. I left halfway through because the sound was terrible and all I heard was thumping. I couldn’t distinguish one song from the next because they all sounded the same. Perhaps I left too soon, but I didn’t hear any of his best works either. Waste of time and waste of money. I’ve never in 35+ years of going to concerts written a bad review, or walked out of a show that quickly. Frankly, he sounded like an amateur DJ. Not impressed and would never see him again.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    Shadow’s 9:30 Club show

    by Cavestock on 2/14/249:30 CLUB - Washington

    Great show, so glad I finally had the chance to to see Shadow do his thing. Highly recommend seeing Shadow live. Hey Shadow, remix Duality from the Tribal Gathering comp? It’s a great old song!

  • Rating: 4 out of 5

    Good Show Bad Venue !!

    by Mel S on 2/13/249:30 CLUB - Washington

    Bass was a little too loud & the 9:30 Club Venue is very small & needs updated

  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    3rd times the charm

    by FreshJive79 on 2/13/249:30 CLUB - Washington

    3rd dj shadow show, 2nd at the 930 club. Did not disappoint. Loved the show, venue was great as always. Been coming to the V street spot since 1998. Can't recommend it enough.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    Action Adventure tour will blow your mind

    by Shopping Bag on 1/28/24Neptune Theatre - Seattle

    This was my first time seeing DJ Shadow despite being a fan since Entroducing. The Neptune Theater was an amazing venue for seeing Shadow, with great acoustics and sound, plenty of good seats and viewing areas, and a well-run operation that made the night smooth. Highly recommend catching Shadow on this tour to hear a musician at the top of his game, providing an unforgettable experience that traverses his entire catalog while dazzling your eyes with an unforgettable video show.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    DJ Shadow Kills !!

    by 801me on 8/1/17House of Blues Dallas - Dallas

    Brilliant set of his own compositions, with a great film/light show.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    DJ Shadow concert was fantastic

    by djsegfault on 7/30/17House of Blues Boston - Boston

    This is the third time I've seen him, and I really enjoyed it. The previous time was at Paradise Rock Club, and it was much harder to see the stage due to the layout of the venue. House Of Blues had much better sight lines, and it all sounded great. I love the diversity of his music, both his sources and what he does with them. The visuals that go along with the music really enhance the experience, especially when they lower the scrim in front of him and project on that, too. The first opening act, Bobby Bangers, was skilled and entertaining, but he was having problems with his turntables skipping, which limited what he could do. The second opening act, Tico, was very lively and fun, and also brought a rapper/MC/hype man on stage with him, which was a great addition to get the crowd into it.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5

    The Mountain Fell, the mountain was conquered!!!

    by LARdElk on 7/24/17House of Blues Anaheim - Anaheim

    This was the absolutely best show I've been to in years. The music was right on and the visual 3-D light show was the best. Definitely a must see show!! Love DJ Shadow!!!!

  • Rating: 1 out of 5

    Boring

    by JoTheG on 7/21/17House of Blues Anaheim - Anaheim

    Played a lot of his new music, it was very slow and boring. Wish he played a lot more of his older stuff