For Rosie DJ mix
I’ve been a fan of Little People for quite some time now: readers may remember my review of the artist’s latest album We Are But Hunks of Wood (http://themusicninja.wpengine.com/little-people-we-are-but-hunks-of-wood/).
I was pretty excited to have the opportunity to do a live performance write up of the artist, but to be fair to the reader, I’m not a huge fan of the proverbial on-stage DJ. It’s not really my scene as I tend to prefer the more head banging, guitar slamming variety of on-stage performance. I typically save my electronica for home.
It was with this sensibility in mind that I donned my Neurosis band tee shirt before heading to the show: an invitation for Little People to impress a diehard metal fan. In the few DJ shows I’ve seen, I’ve never spontaneously started dancing. I’m adverse to even the thought of it.
I spontaneously started dancing at this performance. I just couldn’t help it.
Little People took the stage in an unassuming tee shirt and jeans and promptly got to work. And it was work. This guy is one of the hardest working DJs out there, I’m convinced. He immediately dropped some up-tempo beats, faster than his albums it seemed, and began weaving some of his signature piano licks from Basique, Moon and Start Shootin’ into the faster tunes. I was impressed at the following he had there and the hoots of pleasure as each piano lick trickled over the speakers.
His new album made some appearances as well, Marzipan Children, Aldgate Patterns, and Eminence Grise were present along with others, sometimes tweaked and often juxtaposed between other songs. At one point, Little People was flipping back and forth between four songs, matching beats perfectly, never losing any of the impact of the songs. How could you not dance to that!? It was a great show and a great time.
On a side note, I had the great privilege of sitting in on the interview between the Little People (Laurent Clerk) and The Music Ninja. Not only did I like the Clerc’s reverence for the Wu-Tang Clan and A Tribe Called Quest, I enjoyed the artist’s down to earth, shy and somewhat overwhelmed responses to his own popularity. The indie music industry is full of prima donnas, appropriately! It’s nice to see someone who is aware of his talent but isn’t personally defined by it. Check out Little People. Very worth it!
