DJ Shadow was amazing
by aoeuoeu on 10/23/11The Regency Ballroom - San FranciscoGreat show, great visuals! 1.5 hour set, unique visuals the entire time! His music was new, and great. He played some of his hits, mixed up as well.
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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.
Great show, great visuals! 1.5 hour set, unique visuals the entire time! His music was new, and great. He played some of his hits, mixed up as well.
A giant disappointment. The music sucked and no amount of cool visuals could cover that. Drumstick work unnecessary and pathetic. Sound quality horrible. No fire, no drive, no swing, no nothing. My 16 y.o. son (who used to admire Shadow) and I left after 40 minutes. DJ Truespeaker was very good though.
Great music, great stage presence. DJ Shadow hung out after the show and signed merch. Got to meet him, very briefly, and he was really great to his fans. Thanks for an awesome experience, Shadow.
I saw DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist spin records in Dallas a few years back, no MP3's or computers, just a bunch of turn tables. It was outstanding, perhaps one of the better live experiences I've ever seen. Tuesday I felt like he betrayed that concept and sold out to become an ordinary, lame DJ. I haven't enjoyed anything that Shadow has put out since the Private Press, so this shouldn't have been much of a surprise, but to me he's completely abandoned his roots and seems to be bent on making money out of all of this instead of chasing the art form that he created, or at the very least whatever he's chasing now is unrecognizable.
Awesome show! Crazy to see DJ Shadow in a smaller club in Kansas City. The Shadowsphere is definitely worth the price of a ticket! Skrause, the opener, did a great job as well!!
DJ Shadow is one of the top turntableists in the world and his live performances are proof of why. Not to mention the optical buffet you will experience with DJ Shadow's one of a kind Shadowsphere! DJ Shadow is not reccommended for people who dont like to dance and/or have fun...everyone else should be good.
Unbelievable show as always. No other DJ out there quite like what Shadow does. He creates music, art, and takes you on a journey. He doesn't just mix songs, or spin cd's. He actually creates the music. Great crowd. Great venue. Small and intimate. Just perfect.
DJ Shadow is clearly one of the best DJs in the world (if not the best), and matched the quality of music with an outstanding visual show. DON'T MISS DJ SHADOW!! PHENOMENAL!!
Shadow is the man but this show was not my favorite by any means. He had the crowd rocking for 15 mins or so but lost us bad. Drum and bass sucks. I didn't expect shadow to play any let alone half the set of drum and bass. The crowd was somewhat standing still half the night. He only played an hour twenty also. Lame!! Last shadow show I go until I hear a return to the music I have heard in the past.
Not his normal set, but still amazing! Visuals were cool and his music has such a wide range.
What a fantastic show. So creative. The Shadowsphere was unbelievable. I felt Shadow was on top of it!
The show was great. DJ Shadow played a lot of my favorites, some in a new way. He played new stuff too, all blended the way he does so well. The shadowglobe/light show was really well done and was very cool in its own right. It was also cool that for parts of the show you can see inside the globe and see him rocking out and doing his thing. He was really gracious and thanked the crowd for supporting 'his particular strange brand of dance music' (or something like that). Awesome show.
KILLER new riffs, fun variations on old themes, UNBELIEVABLE video accompaniment. The "Shadowsphere" will blow your mind!
this show lacked energy- granted a seattle crowd is hard to get dancing, use of the lights or simply watching the audience instead of hiding in a ball would have given a good indication when to go louder and faster vs. drop the beat- the lights help people figure out how to dance to the music as well- during some of the beats, a strobe light or disco ball would have really enhanced the show.