DJ Shadow at the Majestic Theatre, Madison WI, 5/4/13
DJ Shadow (Josh Davis) is one of the most eclectic and talented DJ’s I have seen in awhile. He generates all sorts of music mainly deriving from an instrumental hip-hop sound, all without a laptop on his side. At this day and age, an artist like DJ Shadow that scratches vinyl is refreshing from all the electronic artists we see just “pressing play” and twisting some knobs. His music features an abundance of sampling with bass-filled beats. DJ Shadow came to Madison at the Majestic Theatre on May 4, 2013. This was actually his second time coming back to the Majestic within 6 months, since he was last in Madison on December 6, 2012. He sold out his December show, and the May show was packed with a crazy crowd after the Mifflin Street Block Party. When I first saw that it was an “All Basses Covered DJ Set”, I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but afterwards, I knew exactly what it meant. Within the few hours I was there, DJ Shadow went from instrumental hip-hop to trip-hop to even a harder-hitting dubstep-ish sound. It was awesome to see such a versatile set. It was also awesome to see the reaction of the crowd and to hear how excited DJ Shadow was to be there. DJ Shadow repeatedly took the mic to tell the crowd how he hadn’t seen such an interactive crowd in awhile and you could tell that he was having a great time playing on stage.There were numerous people in the crowd literally just jumping up and down with the biggest smile on their face, and that is a huge part of why I love live music. Now listen.
He closed with a classic:
And another popular one from Tokyo Drift featuring Mos Def:
The University of Wisconsin-Madison hosted the 2013 Biennial Neon and Light Exhibition on April 19-20. Held at the indoor Stock Pavilion, the exhibits illuminated the entire building. Dozens of exhibits were scattered about the room, done by artists from UW-Madison as well as other schools. The idea was to use neon light as a medium and many of the art exhibits were done with recycled materials. I’m glad I had the chance to check it out and I was very impressed with the variety of ways that neon light can be transformed into art. Many of the designs were simple, and some were incredibly complex. If anything like a Neon Light Show heads towards your town on April 20th, I advise you to check it out ;).
      STS9 opened the second leg of their tour in Minneapolis, MN at First Avenue on Thursday, April 11th, 2013. The band hadn’t made a stop in the Twin Cities since 2008, so this was a special show to have them open their spring tour there. I don’t believe First Avenue was sold out but being slightly smaller than the average venue Sound Tribe plays in, it sure was packed. They came out firing with all high energy hits. You could tell they were ready to rage on their first night back on the road. One critique I had of the first set is that it was very very similar to their first set in Milwaukee not more than a month prior. In fact 7 of 8 of the first set songs were played in the same exact order in Milwaukee Great set, but a little disappointment for regional fans hoping to hear a bit more variety. However, they did throw out Hubble, a song they hadn’t played in more than a year. The second set brought more hard hitting  songs like, Beyond Right Now and Dance but slowed down for a chiller song in Monkey Music, that was introduced by a solid drum duet between Velmer and Lerner. The encore of This, Us followed by Four Year Puma was a great way to end a rockin’ first night.
Set 1: Golden Gate, Instantly, Arigato, Blu Mood, TWELEVE, Rabble, One A Day, Hubble
Set 2: Vapors, Beyond Right Now, Dance, Kabuki, Monkey Music, Simulator, March, Inspire Strikes Back
Encore: This, Us > Four Year Puma
The crowd is loving Saxton and Tribe during Dance in the second set:
Vapors opening the second set:
The second night of the Spring Tour was at the Orpheum Theater in Madison, WI on Friday April 12th, 2013.
        On Friday night, STS9 once again they brought the heat to Madison, where they haven’t visited since 2009. Saxton Waller, STS9’s extraordinary light technician, brought out their LED light board, which wasn’t seen on First Avenue’s smaller stage. The light board is absolutely mesmerizing but in my opinion it takes away from some of the skills that Saxton has in manipulating the multicolored flood lights. But it definitely adds another element to the great overall production of a Sound Tribe Sector 9 show. This show featured some funky breakdowns and a few covers, along with some classic STS9 favorites. Scheme Reprise, When the Dust Settles and Grow are three songs they have really progressed and learned to extend the jams beyond their boundaries. Some of their feature hard hitting songs included Hidden Hand Hidden Fist, ABCees and EHM. Living up to their name as a Sound Tribe, the band invited some musicians to add more layers of sound. Trombone, Trumpet (Russ Liquid) and Saxophone added some much needed organic brass sound to a synth-heavy band. They played on Tribe’s reggae dub track King Pharaoh’s Tomb, ABCees, Also Sprach Zarathustra, and Empires. Also Sprach Zarathustra is an interesting cover. It was composed in the late 1800’s for a full orchestra and the epic fanfare was later used in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. This song is also familiar to Phish fans as 2001. STS9 brought another cover in the second set, Robot Rock, a popular track from the electronic duo Daft Punk. They rounded out the second set with Breathe In, a great heart melting song featuring Phipps on piano, a great funky song, Grow, Rent and What is Love.
Set 1: Scheme Reprise, 20-12, Hidden Hand Hidden Fist, Kaya, Looking Back On Earth, King Pharaoh’s Tomb* > ABCees*, EHM
Set 2: Really Wut?, When The Dust Settles, Also Sprach Zarathustra*, Empires, Robot Rock, Breathe In, Grow, Rent, What Is Love
Encore: Moon Socket
STS9 with Horns
Breathe In
Sax
STS9 bringing the heat right off the bat with Scheme Reprise:
         These two nights were an awesome experience. Each night brought a different atmosphere in unique venues. The first night featuring high energy songs, in a packed, sweaty venue featuring Saxton going wild on the lights. The second night the band busted out their Mayan temple shaped LED light board in the beautifully wide open Orpheum Theater, with some funky tunes featuring a group of horn players. Cannot wait to see what Sound Tribe Sector 9 will have to offer in May when they perform at Summer Camp Music Festival in Chillicothe, IL.
on February 8th, 2013 moe. graced Madison with their presence for the first time since 2005. They played at the Capitol Theater inside the Overture Center in downtown Madison. A beautiful venue for a great band. The fans of moe. are always so great, too!
Before each set is about to begin my roommate and I like to take guesses at what they will come on with. For the first time in my life i made the correct guess of ZOZ, one of my favorite moe. songs and in my opinion the best Jim song they play. He absolutely kills it on the xylophone on that song. The setlist from 2/8/13:
Set 1: Zed Naught Zed > Bearsong, Jazz Wank > Not Coming Down > Wicked Awesome, It > Up On Cripple Creek
Set 2: Yodelittle, Time > Big World > Ricky Marten > Threw It All Away, She > Waiting For the Punchline
Encore: Spaz Medicine, San Ber’dino
Here is the studio version ZOZ (Zed Naught Zed) off the Album Sticks and Stones:
This is a video of moe. performing Not Coming Down during their 2nd set of the evening at the Capitol Theater
Papadosio kicked off the February string of concerts on February 1st, 2013 at the Majestic Theater. Papadosio is a five person band playing psychadelic progessive rock jamtronic dance music. It is a mold of many different genres artfully stitched together in a flow that will keep you dancing all night. These guys love the music they make and give a great family like vibe when they see all their fans enjoying their music. In their music and art Papadosio is all about interconnectedness, spiritual power and unity and these elements are heard in the artistic meld of music. Their most recent album, To End The Illusion of Separation T.E.T.I.O.S. (released October 2012) is a 2 disc set that took 2 1/2 years of writing, mastering, performing and recording before they were satisfied with their work. They wanted to release an epic album that would not disappoint their fans, and it surely did not disappoint.
Both these videos are from the Majestic Theater featuring songs from the newly Released album T.E.T.I.O.S.
Cue is an upbeat fast paced jam that will get you out of your seat. I enjoy the double time on the hi hat while the keyboard synthesizer flutters up above the rest of the band. The guitar has a very pure tone with a bright sound that travels well in space. This song is just so funky and groovy, always a crowd pleaser.
“We Are Water” is another release from the new album. A deeper song than Cue yet still dance music in it’s own manner. The traditional piano sound gives the song it’s liquid feel.
Yet another video of Papadosio performing “We Are Water” from Trillium Connect Music Festival in Wisconsin in May 2012.
Stoneway Music 
