Dâm-Funk/RJD2
Waterloo Park, Nov. 6It’s never clear what you’ll get when Dâm-Funk is on the bill. Sometimes DJ and sometimes Master Blaster band leader, the Los Angeles ambassador of boogie was a bit of both on Saturday, performing as a one-man band at the helm of four turntables, drum machines, a strap-on keyboard, and three microphones with varying levels of delay and echo effects. With shoulder-length hair and a crisp, red L.A. ball cap, Dâm-Funk brought to life the Jheri curl synth grooves of 2009’s Toeachizown (“the album all these bloggers been speaking on”), a sprawling, two-hour modern funk manifesto. At the end of “Hood Pass Intact,” Dâm-Funk pronounced from whose cloth he’s cut: “Rest in peace to Roger Troutman, y’all.” RJD2 took the stage next declaring, “I’m gonna cram as much shit as humanly possible into your ear holes and eyeholes in the next 45 minutes.” The Ohio-raised DJ and producer delivered, assaulting the senses with sounds from four turntables and a pair of drum machines as clips from vintage spy films and Aqua Teen Hunger Force projected overhead. RJD2 incorporated live beat-making with a mix of everything from Trick Daddy to classic salsa, but the crowd roared loudest when he dropped favorites “The Horror” and “Smoke & Mirrors” from 2002 debut Deadringer.
This article appears in November 12 • 2010.
