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Scratch live DVD

Nic Nac | LA | 07/04/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Jay uses a laptop because he's running a program called Final Scratch that allows him to digitize some of his records. It's just new technology, you can hate it if you want, but it all comes down to the fact that he's an original party rocker and he just wants to make people have fun. And he is a forefather of scratching. Listen to Mike and Z Trip talk about him on the DVD. Respect.

Z Trip's set is awesome. He's getting big now, and you can see why here. Really creative. Everything from old school hip hop to Pantera. Ever seen a moshpit at a hip hop concert? Well, here you go.

I think the X- Ecutioners were a little off that night. They are pretty technical and sometimes it doesn't translate. They are the only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars. But it's still impressive to see them perform. And this is probably the last footage of them before they broke up.

Mike's set is absolutley insane. That last reviewer said "no tricks, nothing new." Dude, what were you watching? Mike pulls some crazy stuff out of his brain. His crabbing technique is nuts. He even nails the lighting guy in mid-performance for making it look like a "rave." I can't repeat what he says here, but trust me, it's priceless. He and Z Trip get the crowd moving like I haven't seen in a while. I guess if that's what you mean by Mike "biting" Z Trip, then yeah, I agree. In any case, Mike is one of the most technically sophisticated turntablists out there (the other being Q Bert) but Mike really knows how to rock a party, too.

I haven't watched all of the bonus features yet or listened to the commentary, but I did watch the Shepard Fairey feature, and it's definitely part of the reason I like this DVD so much. He's really well know in the street-art world and this is a good insight into what he does and how he does it. I'm actually kinda surprised that his part hasn't gotten more hype, I think people just don't realize that it's on there.

I recommend this DVD to anybody who is already down. For those of you who are merely interested, check out Mike's part and feel your head spin.

And if you're still not convinced, check out a couple other online reviews, like the one from the last issue of RS."

Frustrating

eightpointagenda | Chicago, IL | 05/12/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I got the fortunate oportunity to see the Scratch Tour 2003 (to which this DVD is a part of) when it rolled through Chicago. At the time, I was just starting to get interested in the art of DJing and saw this as a perfect chance to see what some of the pros do in a live setting. The show was a shocker all the way around. Jazzy Jay delivered the old school jams, and X-cutioners scratched the night away (which is why I ended up leaving the show a bit early). Z-Trip caught me off guard with a wonderful mash-up set, like what he normally does. What differes from the Chicago set verses this is we got Q-bert instead of Mix Master Mike (a welcome trade if you ask me). So I thought this DVD would be a great way to remember all those great times from the show in Chicago.

What a waste...

As stated by everyone else, this DVD is so flawed it just destroys what little content there actually is. Short cut teaser sets. Horrible editing and directing. A generally pretty lame crowd. And a really boring set from X-Cutioners that just seems to go on and on and on and on... I don't know what the producers of this DVD were thinking but they really missed the mark with this. The good news is the little amount of footage of sets from Jay and Z-trip do show some solid plays (though Jazzy Jay using Final Scratch does have sort of a WTF quality to it). Mix Master Mike is still scary behind the decks but not as enjoyable as Q-bert was. The X-cutioners set was just too techincal to really be all that fun. Too much scratch technique, not enough actual music.

Ultimately, this DVD gives off one or two impressions: either the L.A. stop on the tour wasn't that great to begin with or next time they really need to learn how to design and produce a concert DVD. Don't get suckered into this waste of plastic and time."