Wednesday, May 14, 2008

RJD2 Live


Back in Nov/Dec of 2007 I wrote some commentary panning RJD2's "The Third Hand" - his latest installment. I kind of rescind my comments - I saw him live at Paradise in Boston on May 3 and "The Third Hand" came to life for me that night - and I actually had a chance to tell him quickly after the show. It all makes sense to me now too - I did some more digging and realized his first albums (progressive and fairly experimental trip-hop) were released on the Definitive Jux label which hosts more independent hip-hop artists such as Aesop Rock, Mr. Lif and C-Rayz Walz (heard of em? let me know if you haven't and I'll hook you up with some music - they're great).

So anyway, RJ is now with XL Recordings which releases the likes of Beck, Vampire Weekend, Tapes 'n' Tapes and the Raconteurs. This is a HUGE departure from Def Jux, and "The Third Hand" is a HUGE departure from RJD2's previous albums. I still like "Deadringer" and "Since We Last Spoke" more than Third Hand, but RJ did rock out on stage in between classics such as The Horror and Chicken Bone, and some improv Mario Bros soundtracks. He really showed some versatility, and he brought his creativity on the turntables to his guitar playing and general stage presence.

It was very cool too - at the end of the show he sat at the front of the stage and shook hands with his fans, I've seen few and far between do something like that, very classy, and made me like his beats even more.

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