DJ EROK & Andy Ward - Live at Kulturez Store 4.1.12 - Mix & Pics, Downtempo/TripHop/HipHop

Yesterday I had the pleasure of DJing at Kulturez - my friend's apparel & skate shop in Cambridge, MA. It was a chill Sunday afternoon and my Boston DJ partner Andy Ward joined me to play some tunes. Always great to partner w/ the Kulturez crew - they have incredibly positive energy and style.

Big thanks to the Kulturez crew - Mayan, Jay, Andre - for hosting us, and to all my friends and supporters who came out for the session and Buy One, Get One sale! Check out the mix and pics below, and visit Kulturez.com for some t-shirts, kicks, art, culture and more. Especially check out two of my favorite t-shirt brands - Mayan Tamang and AllThingsRPossible.

I DJ for the first hour, Andy jumps on for the second hour, he and I alternate until the end. Enjoy!

DJ Shadow show review - 3.30.12 - House of Blues in Boston - the SHADOWSPHERE

Legendary producer DJ Shadow performed at House of Blues in Boston last night. His performance was nothing I've ever seen before - he climbed into a giant ball "Shadowsphere" which was placed in front of a giant projection screen. He performed in the sphere all night. The ball acted as a 3D screen that interacted with the projection on the background.

It was an elaborate, but simple and entrancing performance. DJ Shadow has been performing the "Shadowsphere" for nearly 2 years now, but it was new to me and I recommend it to anyone. He performed for 2+ hours and his attention to the crowd was great. He is a true performer.

DJ Shadow performed various tracks - classics like "Building Steam on a Grain of Salt" "Six Days" and "High Noon," along with music from his latest album The Less You Know the Better. DJ Shadow has been outspoken about the art of DJing being a performance, and he lived up to that message. He remixed on the fly, used an array of turntablism, synth and midi effects, live drumming and masterful mixing to refresh his tracks for a live audience. He performed various styles that he's experimented with through the years, ranging from trip hop, drum & bass, dubstep (new stuff), and pure hip hop.

Here's a few pics from the night, plus DJ Shadow videos and tracks to check out - and visit his site for his newest album, many more pics and other media:

White Panda show/album review in Madison 3.22.12 - Stream/ Download new album Bambooyah, Pics & Mixed Feelings

  

I saw White Panda perform their new album Bambooyah last night in Madison, WI. The album is great - it's a fantastic new set of mashups of electro dance, pop, and a lot of classic samples and riffs, and the continuous mix flows really well. I had high expectations for this show - of live remixing and DJing - hearing new mashups on the fly. Yet, I came away with mixed feelings. Here's why:

1. White Panda are great mashup artists. Definitely download their music (as linked to above) - it was great to dance to their mashups in the club. They had the crowd going. But, it was clear that they were just playing their pre-mixed mashups with little live mixing or DJing.

2. They went on late - after 1 AM. That's acceptable in NYC or Chicago, but not Madison (IMO), where bar time is 2/2:30 AM. They played for an hour. If i'm paying a premium cover to see a DJ act I expect more than an hour.

3. Then they abruptly stopped. No cool down, no taper, no bravado, nothing. They just stopped their set and walked off. Lights on, show over. It was musical blue balls.

Bottom line: I really enjoy White Panda's latest mashup album - it is the highest quality production and mashup they've achieved yet - and I will continue to download and recommend their music. However, I'm unlikely to see them live again or recommend that anyone does. They have to deliver more if I'm going shell out a cover premium to see them live.

Nonetheless, I had fun despite my expectations not quite being met. Maybe I should just appreciate it for what it is - great music played really loud ;) Here's pics from the night: