Have I moved Ninja Tune to my kill file? Or is it just selective
amnesia? Either way, I don't know why nobody has mentioned the ninja
tune tour happening right NOW.
So, last night the local punters and I drove two and a half hours in the
rain to Canada's rather boring capital, Ottawa. Why? Well, DJ Food and
Funky Porcini, that's why. At the Cave, downtown.
I've never been too familiar with the Ninja Tune/Mo Wax axis of modern
dance music. I like it, I just don't follow it. That may have to change
now.
We arrived around 11:30, perfect timing as DJ Food fired up the first of
four turntables. Forty-five minutes of madness ensued. First half was
jungle, second was hip-hop. Only track I recognized was an old Herbie
Hancock record.
Next, Funky Porcini took over. He was on for at least an hour and a half.
Brilliant stuff. He took some d'n'b track, and mixed it into a Charlie
Parker record. I knew the track, but couldn't think of the name. Must
check my tapes. He continued on in this vein, with incredible transitions
in jungle/rare groove/world beats/hip-hop and be-bop. I have never seen
anything like this before.
After FP, DJ Food re-attacked the decks. After a couple of minutes of
hip-hop/jungle half time mixing, they switched into a wonderful mix of
modern/old school electro. Trainspotting delight of the evening:
Afrika Bambataa's Soul Sonic Force mixed into Helikopter - Plastikman.
Neat.
Maybe the tour's started in Canada. Maybe America gets second whack
after we Canadians have had their way. BTW, they will be in Toronto
tonight, and in Montreal tomorrow.
Hot and humid venue. The Cave is an underground stone basement.
Very cool to have this quality performance in Ottawa(!), and in a venue
with less than 300 people. They were set up on the stage, and the public
could actually walk all the way around, and spot from the wings, stage
right. Big fun. Too far to read records, but nice watching them scratch.
End review: Don't miss it. Even if jungle/hip-hop isn't your thing, the
performance more than makes up for it.
Phil Downey - Plus 8 From Outer Space Wed 10:30pm-12am
CFRC-FM, 101.9FM, 90.9 Cable, Queen's University Radio
e-mail: 3pjd3@qlink.queensu.ca
web:
http://qlink.queensu.ca/~3pjd3/philhome.htm