DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist
DJ Shadow, left, and Cut Chemist are bringing their "Renegades of Rhythm" tour to Syracuse.
(Twitter | @cut_chemist)
DJ Shadow is returning to Syracuse next month, and he's bringing a friend with him this time -- plus a treasure chest of hip-hop records.
DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist's second leg of "Renegades of Rhythm" tour dates include a concert on Monday, Nov. 10 at the Westcott Theater in Syracuse. Doors open at 7 p.m., music starts at 8 p.m.
Tickets for the all-ages show are currently on sale for $25 through the Westcott Theater. Fans can also buy a "VIP Meet n' Greet Package" for $75, which includes a ticket, signed poster, t-shirt and VIP access to the DJs' sound check.
The vinyl-only show is comprised solely of music from "founding father of hip-hop" Afrika Bambaataa's epic collection of more than 40,000 records. Rolling Stone reports the Zulu Nation founder recently let the duo explore his Queens, New York storage facility, to choose which records they'd take on tour.
"As is usually the case when I'm spending long hours dealing with a large volume of vinyl, it was freezing cold, I was sitting on the floor, and food was scarce," Shadow told the magazine. "Such is the nature of the quest."
Listen to a 30-minute mix sampling music from the "Renegades of Rhythm" tour:
"The mix features recordings Bambaataa had pressed to acetate for spinning live at shows in the late '70s and early '80s," Cut Chemist told blog Pigeons and Planes. "This mix includes entirely unreleased material along with demo versions of hits like 'Looking For The Perfect Beat', 'Renegades of Funk' and 'Planet Rock.'"
DJ Shadow, whose real name is Josh Davis, last performed at the Westcott in 2012 -- just his second-ever show in Syracuse after opening for Nas at Syracuse University's 1997 Block Party. His 25-year career is built on crate-digging and turning obscure samples into experimental, largely instrumental hip-hop with tracks like "Building Steam with a Grain of Salt" and "Midnight in a Perfect World."
Cut Chemist, a longtime friend and collaborator of Davis, is best known as one of two disc jockeys behind the rap collective Jurassic 5. The group recently finished a 20th anniversary reunion tour, opening the turntablist born Lucas MacFadden back up to doing what he does best: Cutting, scratching, mixing, and entertaining crowds with his own custom instruments.
Afrika Bambaataa pioneered the hip-hop movement in the late '70s and built a foundation for the modern genre with his massive collection of funk, soul, disco and dance music. In 2012, he was named a visiting scholar at Cornell University, home to the largest national archive of hip-hop recordings and other cultural artifacts largely donated by Bambaataa himself.
DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist - Renegades Of Rhythm Fall 2014 Tour Dates
11/6 - Pawtucket, RI - The Met
11/7 - Brooklyn, NY - Verboten
11/8 - Montreal, QC - Corona
11/10 - Syracuse, NY - The Westcott Theater
11/11 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
11/12 - Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
11/14 - Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre
11/15 - Charlottesville, VA - Jefferson Theater
11/17 - Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre
11/20 - Winnipeg, MB - Garrick Centre
11/21 - Saskatoon, SK - O'Brien's Event Centre
11/22 - Edmonton, AB - Encore at WEM
11/23 - Calgary, AB - Flames Central
11/25 - Oakland, CA - The Fox