A group of us went to see DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist at the Big Top in Sydney’s Luna Park. This is the Hard Sell Tour with dates in Perth, Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne. This set was performed to 15,000 at the Hollywood Bowl.

I got into DJ Shadow during the last 12 months – having downloaded (and paid for) his Endtroducing, Private Press and The Outsider albums but this was a different experience.

The gig started with a slightly wordy introduction from Shadow, which lead into an ‘instructional video‘. The video explained that the DJs would be using 45s or 7 inch records and paid tribute to this format.

The set was eclectic, nerdy and complex spanning obscure tunes from yesteryear, rock ‘classics’ (such as Eye of the Tiger), Hip Hop, the Foo Fighters, The Doors and World music. Rather than get the crowd dancing, the objective seemed to be to show off what they could do with 45s. You can get a feel for it here, this isn’t the exact same mix though. Don’t get me wrong, there was a lot of dancing but there was also a lot of static energy while the crowd took the music in or just tried to make sense of the direction.

It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting so there was an element of personal disappointment and at times I felt that the performance verged on the self indulgent. However, it was an interesting display, I really enjoyed the experience and I can appreciate the skill and passion that went into it. The music afficionados and DJs in the crowd loved it.

At the end of the set, the two of them came around to the front of the stage wearing mini decks that hung from their necks, each spinning a record. They proceeded to scratch away with these strange devices, further evidence – if it were needed – of the fact that they are taking the art form into new directions but one wondered if they were getting more out of this than the audience.

At times, during the night the visuals – which were awesome throughout – took us back to the 50s and I felt quite nostalgic. There was a massive appreciation for music in general coming from the stage.

Luna Park is a great setting for a gig and the Big Top venue was awesome. Better than The Enmore and roughly the same capacity, I would have thought.

Here’s how DJ Shadow describe the Hard Sell:

“We want to play something to make everyone smile… and then send them running for the exits!”

More reviews here and here by people who know what they are talking about.

Tags: 45rpm, Big Top, Cut Chemist, DJ, Hard Sell, Luna Park, Shadow