Saturday, April 12, 2008

RJD2 @ Casbah 4.8.08

Kristian was in San Diego this week and convinced me to go to the Casbah to catch RJD2. I've seen him twice before, but this was the first time I saw him play with a band as well as his usual turntablism stylings.

I wasn't really into the openers- I'm just not really a hip-hop chick- but they were also far louder than they should've been. You want to tell them this is the Casbah with less than 200 people, not some spacious nightclub with hundreds of people dancing, so there's no need to be so loud, particularly because it made all their beats and rhymes blur together into one neverending sound.

But finally RJD2 came out and the openers forgotten. The Casbah was packed- the show sold out and there were a handful of people outside hoping to get in- and I wormed my way around to the side of the stage.


The set started with RJD2 on his four turntables while random film pieces ran behind him. Watching him maneuver seamlessly between his records and the turntables almost feels like watching a sporting event rather than a music performance, because he's so graceful and does it all with such ease. (more after the jump)


Eventually his full band came onstage and they played for a while. I wasn't familiar with any of their material and it was rather unexpected for me. I liked it but ended up out on the patio because it was a little too crowded inside for me. The show was really energetic but I think they were hoping for more turntablism.



That guy on the right is Mark...he was selling the merch but also said he's in a band, so if anyone caught the name of it, let me know.



Anyway, after the show I went to U-31 and caught some Navy guys singing some karaoke before calling it a night and heading home. The night was a nice change of pace for me and I'm glad Kristian convinved me to check out RJD2 again.

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