Jamie XX at Bimbo’s
I've never really been one for seeing dj's live. I've always been a band guy; I like to see the drummers drum, the guitarists guitar, the saxaphonists sax (is that it? Or is it blow?). Standing around, watching someone DJ just always seemed a little strange to me. A guy or gal in a hoody stands on stage alone and taps a computer, shuffles some things around on a table, ever so slightly bobbing his head to some tunes. If I wanted to do that, I'd put a mirror in front of my desk.
So I was cautiously optimistic when I entered Bimbo’s 365 Club to see Jamie XX. I knew his music well, and liked it, and I love the venue. I’d be willing to take a flyer on practically any act that comes through the place. I figured it would be a fun evening anyway, a few drinks, listen to some music that I was into, catch up with some friends, but I didn’t get my hopes up that I’d be blown away.
He didn't dissappoint. Throughout the night, Mr. XX artfully created an experience; he very intentionally crafted a tempo to the evening that swung pendulum-like between mellow and amped up, and the crowd took the bait. The high end of the evening came after five seconds of dead air when a melancholy jazz piano riff began to play. The crowd wasn't sure what to make of it at first, it was a major departure from everything they'd heard so far in the evening. When the raspy, punchy voice of Carmen McRae sang the poignent first lines of the song, the crowd lost it. The lines were "I'm always drunk... in San Francisco...".
Jamie wove in his well known album pieces alongside on the fly creations. It is hard to tell if he was actually 'mixing' his album pieces or if he was simply pressing play, he rarely did more than move around some records, adjust some dials, and bob his head as if to both keep a beat and to say "this is working". But ultimately who cares, he was throwing a hell of a party.