DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist an Easy Sell in TO

  • Posted by Gary
  • Filed in Music
  • January 31, 2008

Local promoters REMG hit another home run last night at the Phoenix. A sold out crowd braved the cold air last night to see The Hard Sell starring California turntablists DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist, with a special opening set by Canada's own Kid Koala.

Scalper tickets were going for $100 outside and the place was packed inside shortly after Kid Koala started his set of crazy scratching and cutting on three turntables. The appreciative crowd was glued to the big screen at the Phoenix, which was showing Kid Koala's fast hands in action. The two highlights were definitely his breathtaking live remix of "Moon River" (using three vinyl copies of the classic song), and a robot dance off with two volunteers coming up on stage and wearing funny costumes Kid Koala's wife made.

After a short break, the main event started with this amazing introduction:

It was all good stuff from there, with DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist ripping through countless 45's for two hours. All genres got their time in the spotlight including metal in a fantastic encore where both DJs scratched over Metallica's "One" using portable 45 turntables strapped to their bodies at the front of the stage. From start to finish it was an insanely fun show to watch.

This was DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist's third tour together. If you haven't yet seen them in action, make sure you keep your ear to the ground for the next tour.

(lead video from an earlier tour date)

Reader Reviews and Comments

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What an amazing show... a true tribute to vinyl and the culture about it! The quirky video visuals were a nice touch. Loved the wrist-band camera view on DJ Shadow.

Posted by: Jerrold at January 31, 2008 12:17 PM

Was it just me, or did the sound completely suck? I know the standard complaint about clubs these days is that they are too loud, but I always wear ear protection when I got to concerts, and I simply didn't need it yesterday. Further, I could hear conversations all around me and the sound coming out of the speakers was very tinny and bland. The show was off the hook for sure, but I really thought the sound didn't do it justice.

Posted by: Dope-A-Lot at January 31, 2008 12:26 PM

Man I wished I could have gone to this show. They are great.

Posted by: Sean Galbraith at January 31, 2008 12:52 PM

the sound at the phoenix always sucks. ;)

Posted by: anonymous at January 31, 2008 1:23 PM

The Phoenix is one of my least favourite venues in Toronto. It's dark (in a dirty kind of way), the bars are placed in high traffic areas, the sound isn't so hot, etc. But if you fill it with a damn good show, I tend to forgive and forget almost entirely.

Posted by: Jerrold at January 31, 2008 3:20 PM

Bonus points to those who recognized Cut Chemist in the movie Juno. :-)

Posted by: Sean Galbraith at January 31, 2008 6:23 PM

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