DJ Krush at Highline Ballroom, NYC - "4 hour set"

Dan and I went to DJ Krush's DVD release show at Highline Ballroom in NYC last night. It was the first show of his tour to promote the DVD. Dan was lucky enough to be listening to WFMU (a great radio station really, you should check it out if you haven't already - wfmu.org) at just the right time, and won tickets to the show by being able to identify a Souls Of Mischief song. I was even luckier to be his +1. I found it odd though that the majority of the folks I mentioned the show to had no idea who Krush was. I thought he was a pretty well known DJ, but I guess I was wrong. So, for those of you who fall amongst the populous of not knowing Krush, he's an excellent DJ from Japan, and you should check out his stuff at all costs. He plays pretty jazzy hip-hop type stuff mostly, and does not disappoint.

The show was promoted as a 4 hour set by Krush, which pretty much meant good beats all night. We arrived, what we thought was, a little late for the show; 8:30-9 to a show that was billed to kick off at 8pm sharp. When we walked into the venue, the house lights, that were still on, showed us roughly 60 people standing around confused. I described it to Dan as random people who may have won a drawing that they unwillingly entered somehow, and were told to show up to this location to collect their prize, yet there were no signs of a prize or anyone handling the situation. Just people standing around confused. We got a few beers from the bar that cost roughly what an entire night of drinking costs me at a local watering hole because the bartender thinks I'm a swell guy. We decided it would be best to head outside (seeing as we had our hands stamped and re-entry wasn't an issue) and get a few drinks elsewhere. Armed with 7% alcohol cans of malt liquor, we head to the streets to find nothing but an art show riddled with Andy Warhol rip-offs and the Bates College Alumni party. Had I known where Bates College was, I may have invited myself, after all, it looked like a pretty swank soirée.

We went back for a second go, and this time there was an actual real live man, on stage, DJ music for us to listen to. There were more people, and the place wasn't lit like they were about to set-up for Thursday night bingo. We got some more beers, and sat back to have a look and a listen. The man on stage was Japanese, and he was good, but he wasn't DJ Krush. Not to to make it sound as if I have zero interest in listening to anyone but to artist that drew me to the show, but we just weren't aware that anyone else was going to be DJ'ing that evening. Now, as I said earlier, the guy was good, but there's something about a crowd of people standing around, watching a man use a laptop that bores. The crowd dynamic surely plays a factor, as does the "performance" of the DJ, but it wasn't long before the two of us fell into a social coma. Back outside.

This time we headed to a swank bar a few blocks away where a friend of mine bartends. Had we had our designer jeans on and been drinking martini's, or possibly a drink with an exotic fruit flavor, I think we would have fit in a bit better, but the drinks were cold and free, and I was able to smoke at the bar, which is something I miss at times. Two drinks, a short game of catch up, and we were headed back for, what would ultimately be, our last time.

Another live man, a Japanese man, a man DJ'ing, but I still don't think it was Krush. Although, it may have been, I couldn't really tell, but if I had to bet my rent check on it, I'd go for nay. Less than 10 minutes, and less than 10 feel from the entrance, and we were making our last exit. The music was good, but neither one of us were really in the mood to stick around and see what, if anything, was going to happen next, and considering neither of us paid the $20 cover, or whatever they were charging at the door, we had no problem with leaving early. Funny thing is, last time I seen DJ Krush perform, it was a pretty amazing show that I was really looking forward to seeing again. I suppose what I experienced was the exact opposite of that.

Just like my mom used to say to me... I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed.