sweaty weekend: parts 1 and 2

So we’ll start at the beginning:

Chris Fortier at Lotus, on Friday night. Fortier is a really, really nice guy, and he played a really, really nice, varied set.  The rave factor was much higher than the last time I saw him, which was great to hear.  Smooth mixes, lots of vinyl, and people losing their shit == good times.  Amusingly, the resident DJs hadn’t played a record in so long that they didn’t know the decks were skipping from too much bass.  Two barstool-tops ended up saving the day though.  (and yes, I know the picture is old)

Saturday night was Kid Koala with Kieren Hebden and Steve Reid, at the Commodore, as part of Jazz Fest:

Kid Kola is pretty sick, overwhelmingly happy, and has a nasty sense of humour hidden until his “Your Mom’s Favorite DJ” veneer.  He’s also an amazing turntablist.  His chief strength, though, is not his pure technical ability.  Rather, it’s the music he chooses to apply the aforementioned staggering technical ability to that sets him apart.  To badly paraphrase someone:  “Any DJ can rock a party.  Not many DJs can rock a party with doubles of Moon River.”  A great show, other than the pointless 45 minute wait for the Kid to start his set after the openers finished:

Kieren Hebden and Steve Reid are one helluva pair.  Hebden is tall, with frizzy hair, HUGE EYES, and a serpentine neck.  When he smiles, his entire face lights up, and he begins to look human.  Reid, on the other hand, is a 63 year old black man, who plays drums like a spider in the depths of religious ecstasy.  Combined, they sound…well, like Four Tet playing with a legendary jazz drummer.  What did you expect them to sound like?  I can’t recommend them enough.