I’m going to be completely honest: I never was particularly interested in concerts where DJs were the main act. Granted, my experience in those types of concerts was very limited, I was never as captivated as when seeing what one would call a “traditional band” (guitars, bass, drums, etc.). However, after seeing French turntablists C2C completely wreck the crowd at the Independent in San Francisco last Saturday, I can safely say that my opinion has changed for the better.
The group opened up with “The Cell,” a slow building beat that begins with flutes and a steady beat that eventually drops into a heavy session of scratching synth, vocal and drum sounds. Not only could these guys get the crowd dancing and jumping from the front to the back, but they were active on stage, a key aspect that many DJ/turntablist acts can sometimes miss. They jammed out and rocked with the beat, freestyled some scratching and vocally interacted with the crowd. The scene got even more intense when the four DJs split into opposing pairs to do a crowd-judged DJ battle. The group even stepped in front of their rigs to rap to a cover of the Beastie Boys classic, “Intergalactic” in tribute to the late MCA.
Audio aside, one of the most engaging aspect of C2C’s performance was their use of animations displayed on the front of their rigs. Most of the animations involved the manipulation of geometric shapes that were manipulated in real-time to correspond with the scratching the DJs did with their tracks. In addition to viewing a variety of 2D and 3D geometric movements, the group also had multi-colored cartoon mouths singing the lyrics to their single “Down the Road,” which were again manipulated to correspond to the audio manipulation.
As the crowd left the venue, stumbling into the midnight streets of SF with ears ringing, it was clear that C2C had accomplished their goal. There wasn’t a person who hadn’t jumped, danced, or bobbed to the bombastic beats and mixes from the French scratch-masters, proving that the power of the turntable can stand its own, converting naysayers (like myself) into beat freaks.
Ian Birnam covers music. Contact him at [email protected].