Fatboy Slim + The Jungle Bros. + Alex Gifford, NYC

Yvonne Liu (yvonneliu@yahoo.com)
Tue, 21 Jul 1998 15:02:22 -0700 (PDT)


Fatboy Slim + The Jungle
Brothers + Alex Gifford
The Bowery Ballroom
(212) 533-2111

Admission/fees
$15

Wednesday, July 22, 9:00pm

Fatboy Slim, aka Norman Cook, has had a strange musical career. He was
a member of the '80s Anglo pop group the Housemartins and then went
the dance-music route in the early '90s with Beats International, a
good-time groove collective known for odd sampling (the Clash and the
S.O.S. Band were two sources).

With Fatboy Slim, he's up to his old tricks, but wearing the emperor's
new clothes: He's deep into the electronica scene, creating a mix of
house rhythms, big beats à la the Chemical Brothers and heavy trip-hop
grooves. He's also not above a novelty sample, either, as evidenced by
his latest hit, "Going out of My Head," which bites the hook from the
Who's "I Can't Explain." Cook hardly represents "electronica's"
avant-garde leanings — club sounds don't get more accessible, or
humorous, than this — but if dancing till you're a sweaty mess is your
thing, Cook provides the ideal soundtrack.

The Jungle Brothers are a welcome addition to this bill. An old-school
"new school" act from hip-hop's late '80s golden age, the Brothers
ushered in a new era of positivity and creativity in rap, alongside De
La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. With the first "hip-house" single
"I'll House You," they also showed a talent for incorporating other
dance genres. Lately, they've experienced a rebirth, working with
electronica dance mavens like Propellerheads and Aphrodite (whose
"Jungle Brother" remix is a club killer), bringing them fully into the
'90s. Their live shows, meanwhile, combine exuberant fun, expert
emceeing and intellligence — which are all too rare in today's rap
game. —Matt Diehl

==

" A naked lunch is natural to us,
we eat reality sandwiches.
But allegories are so much lettuce.
Don't hide the madness. "

-- Allen Ginsburg (1954)
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