Booka Shade Vs. The Metro

Friday, March 27 2009

So I made it over to Metro last night to hang with my good friend Chris Barroner (aka DJ Bald Eagle) and check out Booka Shade because, well, everybody loves Booka Shade, right? ... And quite a party it was. There were probably about 500 people in the building and in a venue like the Metro, 500 can look like an awfully generous lot. They delivered a set that touched on high points from their entire body of work and, of course, made good on the promise to include the requisite hits from days past. It goes without saying that cuts like "Body Language," "Mandarine Girl," and "In White Rooms" were the highlights. In my estimation though, "Night Falls" is after several years, still a golden piece of dancefloor madness. What a track! Simple as it is, it probably ranks among my very favorite dance tunes of the past decade. Don't know why... I just love it.

What you see in that "Mandarine Girl" link is pretty much what we saw at the show. Apparently those synched video panels that act as the stands for their gear also function as their equipment casings. Pretty cool, right? (Now that's thinking outside the box - ZING!) Basically, these dudes and their few stage hands are traveling around the country by plane with all that gear in tow. The equipment is all compartmentalized within those custom-made boxes and come showtime, it's all unfolded, reconstructed voltron-style and then, voila!... Instant techno bad-assery with visuals via spaceage luggage devices! Genius.

I also ran into our friend Tim from Schubas and Steve of The Hood Internet who sent me the photos that you'll see below. The event was a wicked good time and a good showing for Booka Shade in what is surely their biggest headlining gig they've ever done in Chicago (because they obviously weren't headliners at Lollapalooza last summer). Kudos to them and here's to hoping that they do it even bigger and better next time around.

Tags: Booka Shade, Assorted Musical Musings

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