Recap RJD2 at The Rave/Eagles Club

It wasn’t a surprise that the audience for Sunday’s RJD2 show at The Rave/Eagles Club was a mix of both hip-hop heads and hippies, given the singer-songwriter moves the celebrated DJ/producer makes on his recent album The Colossus. The fact that hip-hop as a label no longer fully encompasses the scope of RJD2’s music was made clear by his opening act and tour band keyboardist, Happy Chichester. Any momentum created by Milwaukee’s always game KingHellBastard was quickly laid to rest by Chichester and his third-rate attempt at Keller Williams-style folky jamming.

Fortunately, RJD2 kept his sensitive guy acoustic act to a minimum. Taking to the stage as “Commissioner Crotchbuttons,” complete with welder’s mask, RJD2 wasted no time getting down to business, as he jokingly performed “Nutsack Symphony No. 1” on a drum machine strapped across his waist. Once RJD2 found way his to his natural habitat—behind the decks—a scratching demo developed over the first couple tracks, including “A Beautiful Mine.” Accompanying his turntable work was a video screen running a constant loop of Evil Dead and Aqua Teen Hunger Force clips, along with commercials for Planter’s Peanuts and feminine hygiene deodorant spray.

Wisely, RJD2 decided to limit his singing and guitar playing to one-song increments—anything longer would have sparked mass disinterest. Let there be no mistake, this is still very much a DJ oriented show. Relying on several samplers and drum machines throughout the night (including one sampler fashioned to look and sound like a Donkey Kong game board), RJD2’s patterns were so dialed in that he was able to continuously switch back from the samplers to the tables with flawless precision.   

As expected, healthy doses of 2002’s Dead Ringer were performed throughout the night. “Good Times Roll Pt. 2” and “Smoke And Mirrors” were treated to extended DJ routines, while “The Horror” and “Ghostwriter,” were performed with the band as a one-two-punch to close out the set. For the encore RJD2 strapped on an acoustic guitar and launched into a half-baked attempt at channeling James Taylor. It was a disappointing follow-up to an otherwise satisfying performance that had already reached its climax.