I went to see the 'Revenge of the Robots' tour in La Belle Angelle in
Edinburgh last night, featuring El-p, Mr Lif and RJD2, and it really was
absolutely fucking superb. I cannot recommend it highly enough to anyone
with the option to see these guys live.
It started with RJD2 DJing, and I was very pleasantly surprised at both how
choice his musical taste was, and how technically proficient he was. It's
been far too long a time since I was impressed by a DJ of any sort witnessed
in the flesh, but his cutting and scratching, combined with a pretty
intelligent way of marrying records together in just the way I like, was a
pleasure to behold. Basically, he played a lot of things from the album, but
interspersed them with the sort of things he sampled to make said album
(e.g. the kind of funk and soul that often was utilised in hip hop records
of the mid-school '87-'93 era). I wouldn't be a fan of such music played in
a normal context, one tune after another, and I don't usually dabble in the
ways of the funk at all, but presented in this fashion, mucked around with,
it was a treat.
Next came a bit of a surprise, in that RJ was not followed by a live Mr. Lif
set, then a live El-P set, but all three performers collaborated at once,
with Lif and El-P doing the extra vocals on each others' tracks, and RJD2
doing the cuts. It was nice to see the show presented in a communal setup,
and gave the show more of a 'Def Jux family' type of feeling.
The energy these guys had was pretty incredible, and their style of
sometimes cutting the beat altogether and performing acapella, reinforcing
just how utterly superb they both are on the mic, was one of a few features
that helped stop the concert from becoming in any way monotonous. Jams on
classic instrumentals like 'Still #1' were also a great method of keeping
the whole spectacle flowing, as were several diatribes concerning the
current political and social climate, which worked the crowd up no end.
Speaking of the crowd (a big proportion of which seemed, like me, to have
traveled in from Glasgow), they were utterly in the palm of the artists
hands, and in some cases appeared to know every word of every song. They
contributed a lot to the vitality of the show.
The concert as a whole reinstated my view that these three guys have quite
possibly made three of this year's finest albums ('Fantastic Damage' in
particular is truly mind-blowing), which, for a small label like Def Jux, is
an amazing feat. It also replanted some of my waning faith in hip hop, and
the culture of the MC especially. Seeing two lyricists like El-P and Mr. Lif
well and truly cutting the mustard before my eyes was an experience I won't
easily forget. Their artistry was pretty much relevant to every element of
my life (sweeping comment there...), and you can't really ask for much more
than that in a gig.
In sum, if you like hip hop of a forward-thinking sort, get your lazy ass
down to anywhere in a 100 mile radius where they're playing, and in fact if
you like stimulating, visceral music in any capacity, you owe it to yourself
to witness this stuff in the flesh. It may not seem like idm to you, but it
sure is to me.
I don't work for them, by the way. :)
Easy,
Papa D.
The Marcia Blaine School for Girls:
marciablaine.cjb.net
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