Z-Trip & Mixmaster Mike @ UCLA

May 31, 2003

DJ Z-Trip. Mixmaster Mike. Free.

Shows don’t really get much better than that, do they? UCLA put on a free show at Ackerman Grand Ballroom on Friday night featuring those two plus Grandwizzard Theodore, the actual inventor of the scratch technique. Theodore went on first, warming up the crowd with a good, if not mindblowing, set. He definitely got the least love of the three performers, even though the MCs and DJs were trying hard to give him his due respect for being one of the original innovators.

Z-Trip came on to the stage to a sound snippet from The Warriors dropping directly into the opening guitar chimes of “Paradise City.” Z-Trip’s made his name being able to rock a party using played out arena rock riffs and recontextualizing them into something thrilling. After listening to him seamlessly lock up Jurassic 5′s “Quality Control” to Oasis’ “Wonderwall,” or combo Outkast’s “Bombs over Baghdad” and Tool’s “Sober” or “Billy Jean” alongside Rage’s “Testify”, it’s hard not to be a believer. By the end of the night he’d run through Run DMC, Elvis, Public Enemy, Nirvana, Rush, Metallica… even a lounge version of Mystikal. When Z-Trip’s got his mojo working, there’s a tangible anticipation in the air as the crowd awaits the next record to start and a cathartic release when the hooks first kick in. “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” for instance, blew the place up. Z-Trip’s supposed to put out a record soon, but apparently he’s getting beat up trying to get his samples cleared. Does Kansas really think “Dust In The Wind” sounds better without that huge backbeat? Please.

Mixmaster Mike came on shortly afterwards and KILLED it. If Z-Trip’s the guy that makes you want to buy a pair of Technics, then Mixmaster Mike’s the guy that makes you wonder what the point of even trying is. His virtuoso skill on the decks is obvious to anyone that watches, because hands aren’t supposed to move that fast, blurring on screen and vibrating so hard that they look that they’ll burrow straight through the turntable. He’s able to mutate the music so much that it’s almost all new melodies and beats, barely recognizable from their origins and yet mesmerizing in their own right. The sickest part is that he plays most of the tracks at a higher speed, to allow the music to catch up to his intentions. Did you ever think that “Immigrant Song” or “Block Rockin’ Beats” needed to play FASTER? He didn’t even rest at any point during the set… it was an hour set run at a sprinter’s pace. I got carpal tunnel syndrome just watching the dude and spent most of the set with my jaw on the floor.

Not to let anyone down, Mike and Z-Trip finished off with a 10 minute freestyle for the encore. Did I mention this was free? Unreal.

Posted in From Blown Speakers