It seems that somewhere between DJ Shadow’s excellent sophomore effort
The Private Press and the recording of his latest (mostly) electronic opus; Josh Davis (that’s his real name, see) had something of an epiphany. Shocked by a near-death experience involving a London taxi journey, and the news of potentially life-threatening complications during his wife’s pregnancy of his two (as then unborn) twin-daughters, the Sampler / Turntablist / Navel Gazer decided things would have to change. And nothing brings out the hard-core rap fan like death-experiences, as they say.
Shortly after, DJ Shadow’s third album, The Outsider, was born, and is a literal reminder of his indifference to expectation, or as he puts it tonight, complete with his Americanised white-b-boy gesticulating: “The rap crew always ask; why do you put that soft shit on your rekid, and the indie boys always ask; why do you put that rap shit on your rekid?” Pronunciation aside, not since Sir Bobert of Dylan has an artist split his audiences so absolutely. To explain…
Bob Dylan (or Robert Zimmerman, that’s his real name, see) - everyone’s favourite folk-messiah, performed each one of his gigs drug-addled belly of the 1960s to equal parts boos and exuberant coos. For with Highway ’61 Revisited, Bob had done the unthunkable, he’d put down his trusty acoustic and decided (*gasp*) to use an electric guitar. ‘Traitor!’ ‘Judas!’ ‘Bastard!’ seemed to be the ad hominem. 50 years on, music has changed somewhat. With The Outsider, everyone’s favourite tip-hop-messiah DJ Shadow decided *gasp* to stop sampling and hire a crew of hard-hitting ‘Hyphy’ rappers (it’s all the rage in California’s Bay Area, apparently). Judas! Traitor! Whatthehellisthis?! shouted DJ Shadow’s usual clique of mild mannered musos / stoners.
Looking around this evening, his partisans seem a little confounded with both the music and each other. We have the long-faced music braggarts rubbing shoulders with chain-smoking American Football fans (or are they? hmm). Perhaps DJ Shadow can claim to be the only contemporary artist who can attract audiences of such opposing jean-bagginess. Josh Davis mulls over his crowd and his new musical direction, again: “It’s all me!” he concludes.
There’s an interesting if not always enjoyable resemblance to the football crowd mentality for spells of the evening; one section cheers at one song (others boo), and then the roles are reversed for another. Interesting to both, however, is watching the juxtaposition between man / machine / music and visuals. Josh Davis (and his visual team) demonstrate just how far ahead electronic music has gotten from standard rock ‘n’ roll in terms of the live ‘spectacle’. There are only a number of times one can see a band jump at choruses and hunch at the verses before it becomes pantomime. While few things will ever be cooler than a wailing guitar solo, DJ Shadow comes close with this constant nob-twisting, head-bobbing and button pushing, all dwarfed under a huge acid-trip screen.
Stateless’ Chris James has made the effort to come out an sing a few ditties for us tonight, which is handy as his haunting collaborations with DJ Shadow have been, for some, the standout tracks from The Outsider, an album that tackles folk; indie; psychedelica, electronica, motown as well as the aforementioned rap departure. Chris James singing the addictive Erase You and the uplifting You Made It, awash with blood red lights and a kind of squat-dancing makes him look rather mesmerizing.
Lateef The Truth Speaker also makes the transition from album collaborator to live performer, standing in for Q-Tip on the impressive Enuff as well as on The Private Press track Mashin’ On The Motorway. What’s most imposing though, is not DJ Shadow’s false modesty with the recurrent chants of ‘Shaaaadow’ ‘Shaaaaadow’ (just take the compliment, man!) its his solo trickery. He finishes with a fuzzed splice of some of his early Endtroducing… classics as well as the monolithic U.N.K.L.E / Thom Yorke collaboration Rabbit In Your Headlights.
The critical and commercial reaction to The Outsider has proved to be something of a test of faith for his long term fans, but the upside is this; even in making music that is alien to most of his fanbase, he’s still managing to connect them through, his admirable love and respect for all music, regardless of race or communal boundaries. A risky move, but it proves the boy not only got balls, but also a large dollop of mad skillz. He did start his set too early though. Bastard.