RJD2, Pigeon John & Happy Chichester 5-14-07 Los Angeles, CA

What an entertaining show. It was a weird one for me, partially because of the rather strange line-up, but mostly because it’s not one I’d have gone to on my own volition. I went because my son is really into RJD2, and he wanted to go.

We got there early hoping to get balcony seats, but for some reason the balcony was closed for this show. So we managed to snag spots against the stage right down front.

Happy came out first with just an acoustic guitar. He played a song or two and then explained what a singer-songwriter was doing opening a hip hop show. He said RJD2 contacted him about playing in his band for this tour, but because Happy had just released a solo record, he said he’d do it if he could also have an opening spot to do his own stuff. So there he was.

I didn’t know it until later, but it turns out my son and I had both seen Happy before, when he opened for Brad in Seattle back in 2002. I didn’t recognize or remember him until my son mentioned it to me after the show. I enjoyed his set—I was mostly impressed with his voice. And his personality. He was very engaging and, well, happy. I wanted to pick up one of his cds but ended up not having enough cash after getting my son a tshirt.

So, from a mellow singer songwriter, we shifted to the super energetic hip hop of Pigeon John. I think a lot of people may have been there just to see him—he’s a local. I’ve never seen a hip hop band before. There was a keyboardist who occasionally played guitar. A drummer. A DJ scratching and playing samples. And Pigeon John, rapping. It was so much fun. I think the thing that impressed me the most was his vocals. How does anyone say so much, so fast, for so long?

I looked him up on allmusic.com, and one of the “moods” they have him listed under is “freewheeling.” I love that. He really is. His songs are rather goofy. His onstage personality definitely is. He had the whole crowd jumping.

RJD2 is interesting. I think the closest comparison I can make (as someone who isn’t very into his genre of music), is Moby. And not just because he’s a scrawny white guy. He’s a scrawny white guy who samples music, scratches, and plays and does everything in the band. I’d heard that he usually tours solo, but this time he took a band along.

There was a drummer, RJ, and two other guys (including Happy). All but the drummer traded off instruments. Keyboards, bass, guitar, vocals—it was a dance of musical chairs each song.

My son was hoping he’d do a lot of older stuff, and I think it was about half new material and half older. His older stuff doesn’t feature a lot of vocals. The new stuff does. About midway through the set, the extra band members left the stage, and RJ got up behind the turntables. Behind him was a screen with film being projected on it. I was suprised how well some of the footage fit with his music. It was obviously carefully selected and planned. He also had a little videocamera aimed at the table which he’d switch on occasionally to let us see what his fingers were doing. In addition to three turntables, he had some sort of sampling machine programmed with different sounds. It had 16 big square keys that he’d tap for different sounds, it was really fascinating to watch. There were times he was almost flinging vinyl around to get it onto the turn table in time for what he was after.

I’m really glad I went. Not just because it was so fun, but also because everyone on the bill were so talented. These are all guys who really know what they’re doing, and it shows.