Sunday, October 20, 2013

RJD2 @ Elektricity in Pontiac, MI [10-18-13] (Review)




Review by: Justin D'Amico 
 
Hip Hop producer and legendary turntable master RJD2 came through Michigan for part of his tour to promote the new album "More Is Than Isn't". He dropped all the classic songs from his brilliant catalog of hits, and peppered in some new ones too. The vibe was extra chill and that went perfect with the vintage hip hop music.


Opening the night in the main room was Drone Sxtn a Detroit DJ and founder of Skratchlife. He set a tone for the evening with some chill hip hop beats and excellent turntable skill. The next group Matis One changed things up a bit with 2 MC's and 2 DJs for a live rap session. The second stage on the patio was kicking out all kinds of  different genres and representing a big fluffy stuffed bunny. The patio was bumping some amazing blends from local producers: Steve Dronez, BHill, Shug, teej, and R.C.U. Back inside Satta Don Dada another Detroit producer busted out some moombahton and trap to switch it up.


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RJD2 had to set up a few extra things in order to properly drop his flow. There were already two turntables in the booth, but that wasn't enough for RJD2. He added two more turntables, another mixer, plus two sample boxes on each far end, completely covering the table. That's a total of four turntables two mixers and two sample boxes. This would be way too many things for a typical DJ to handle, but RJD2 used everything and even had to stretch his arms completely across the table at times. It should also be noted that RJD2 had no headphones on, everything was mixed completely live and through the main speakers, so it had to be just right. I have never seen such a masterful performance before, to watch RJD2 create his music live from the albums he samples on his recordings was incredible.






Elektricity has a few different areas for the wandering concert goer, rather than just a big room. The patio area is where people go to have a smoke and cool down outside, and out there you'll find another booth spinning all night for most events. The patio is used as it's own venue for smaller shows during the week when weather permits. There is a bar out on the patio and VIP lounge areas with chairs and tables. Back inside the club you can go upstairs to a double tiered balcony. The rear portions are often reserved for VIP groups and private parties. These VIP areas are raised higher than the rest of the balcony so the stage can be viewed even from the very back. The lower balcony surrounds the main dance floor area all the way up to the sides of the stage. The very front of the balcony is reserved for VIP parties. The front balcony area also has lowered balcony sections on each side directly adjacent to the stage, these are only accessed by VIP and artists. Even the main floor has two tiers, the back of the room is a bit higher up than the front, and the lower main floor has a slight ramp downward. This type of floor design makes it so nearly everyone can see the stage from almost anywhere in the club.

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