Kid Koala and Kameel

John Kameel Farah is exceptional at the keys. He played an eclectic mix of music - mostly over a backbeat or "song" from his laptop, while layering overtop of that some incredible show with his fingers. Sticking primarily to his piano he added an intricate level to the music. Occassionally he would move over to one of his synths, and sometimes he would play a couple keyboards at once. It was rather cool, and I can't really explain much deeper because it was completely new to me and so I was intrigued but don't have the background to comment further. The first few songs I was really impressed, especially with the abrupt tempo changes and unexpected turns that the songs would take. The electo/techno backbeats were more to my liking, and his final couple of songs that stuck more to simple tracks with piano overtop did become a bit monotonous since I could barely see while standing at the back of a packed Mitchell Hall. Having come for Kid Koala I found that this was a pleasant bonus treat.

The general feeling in the room was that most people had come for the second half of the double bill - and some were impatient with the wait for him to get started (and with the plethora of chairs taking up most of the space in the cramped room). All of these minor annoyances were pushed away when the kid finally took the stage at nearly 1am. After a brief but informative introduction to his equipment, and an assurance that there was no tricky business going on in the background, he began his set. It was extremely interesting to watch on the overhead projector as he mixed, scratched, faded (those are the only DJ key words I know..) on his three turntables creating a great melange of sounds. Sticking to mostly obscure samples (at least to me) he still managed to build great songs of a great variety with his nimble hands that my eyes could barely keep up with at times. Like a seasoned vet he changed out record after record, only letting the music come to a stop at rare occassions to speak to the excited crowd that had immediately pushed the chairs outta the way and huddled around the stage. In the second half of the set he busted out a few recognizable samples (Paper Planes, Blue Orchid) much to the delight of the audience. There were elements of jazz, blues, reggae, dance, hip hop all mixed in there, and he finished off the set with his mother's favourite song - an oldie that he magnificiently mixed. I don't know what the term is but when he picked up and placed the needle repeatedly in different spots on the same record to make a rhythym I found very entertaining. Having waited so long and been impressed by the main set we wouldn't let him get away without an encore and he came back to scratch out a dub tune that took us right to the 2 o'clock hour. Now that I've witnessed him live I have a much greater appreciation for both Kid Koala and DJs on the whole.