Why Hip Hop Sucks in '96

A guest post from The Trouser

I went to see DJ Shadow at the St James last week. Nothing
particularly remarkable about that save that I haven't been to a proper night time live music event for a couple of years and I've never been to see a turntables - so everything was new and exciting.

The night started off well: I worked late, caught the bus down into town, and picked a random Korean eating house for dinner. Soft tofu stew (and the little complementary side dishes) was my chosen delight - and a delight it was too. The Koreans have really hit the nail on the head when it comes to the universal application of garlic and chili.

As only guys can, my plans to redezvous with my friend were extremely thin and poorly executed and I waited outside in Cancer Corner for 30 minutes before venturing inside and queuing at the bar where I forked over $14 (this is not a typo) for Jagermeister and Red Bull in a plastic cup. By the time I got to my seat I had missed the supporting act (Mos Def), the interval, and the first couple of Shadow's tracks. This is largely thanks to my friend's advice that the actual start time would be approximately 1.5 hours after the advertised start time.

The beauty of being advanced in years was to be able to sit in my seat in the grand circle with my Jagermeister and Red Bull and enjoy the show while hundreds of 12 year olds gyrated together in general admission. None of that is even remotely true, except the part about sitting with my Jagermeister and Red Bull and enjoying the show.

There were a number of sublime moments where the extremely loud and disturbed beats blended with the crazy visuals to enormous effect. It made us all dizzyingly happy. Unfortunately it was all over too soon. By 11.30pm we were tossed out onto the cold pavement, ears a-ringing.

Next time I'll find a gig The Skirt wants to come to too!