- Music
- 20 Sep 02
Mr. Davis thinks it's okay to charge people Euro30 to see him playing records, period. It ain't.
If it’s wisdom and insight you’re after, look no further than the Gents toilet in The Ambassador. “When does a man behind some decks become a man behind a desk?” ponders the chap trough-left to me.
It’s a very good question. This being a theatre venue, a proper eyes-a-popping show is called for but, sorry, this ain’t what DJ Shadow’s serving up. Save for the random images on the split-screens above his head, there’s bugger all to feast the retinas on. Unlike yer Orbitals and Groove Armadas, Mr. Davis thinks it’s okay to charge people €30 to see him playing records, period. It ain’t.
Not that his mixing and choice of material isn’t close to faultless. In an intimate club atmosphere, this’d be great. In a two-tiered venue where half the crowd, by necessity, have to sit down, it’s merely adequate.
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There are a few not-to-be-missed moments such as the scratched-to-death ‘Organ Donor’, insanely danceable ‘Midnight In A Perfect World’ and ‘Six Days’, which is so summery you can almost feel your skin burning.
Otherwise proceedings have the whiff of a man who’s doing what needs to be done to pay the bills. His new album, The Private Press, is genius. Tonight’s show was far from it.