Eric San — known widely as Kid Koala — is the smoothest guy in the room. His hands scurry from one turntable to the next, while his body casually moves to the beat of the well-known Beastie Boys banger, “So What’cha Want.” No headphones. No laptop. Just three turntables and a few stacks of vinyl records on the floor behind him. For the next 25 minutes almost everyone in the sold out crowd at the Paradise Rock Club stands transfixed, jaws dropped to the floor, as the Canadian-bred DJ, samples, scratches and segues from one track to the next.
“I’ve been waiting for this reunion for 13 years!” proclaims Kid Koala.
Yes! Finally! We have too!
After a 13-year-long hiatus, futuristic, hip-hop supergroup Deltron 3030 has finally awoken from their sci-fi, cyberpunk slumber and embarked upon a nationwide tour off of the release of their new album,Event II. In the realm of musicians of their ilk, there are few that have stood the test of time quite so stoically. But, even after a decade plus, Deltron frontman Del Tha Funkee Homosapien remains the same infectious rapper of those bygone ‘”Mistadobalina” days.
Clad in a camouflage tank top and sunglasses, Del burst on to the stage, skateboard in hand, to the eponymous track “3030.” Within moments of hearing Deltron producer Dan the Automator’s familiar oppressive beat, you couldn’t help but be taken back to the first time you popped in Deltron 3030 and laid ears on the trio’s weird, space-like hip-hop operatics. Backed by a full band, Del, Automator and Kid Koala delivered a fan-pleasing menu of their more familiar tracks — including “Virus,” “Mastermind” and “Memory Loss,” along with a solid dose of some newer songs.
As for that latter material, sure, the entire crowd was bobbing along, but it was clear that all anyone really wanted to hear was material from the group’s older catalog. Similar to the lyrical nature defining Del’s rhymes onDeltron 3030, newer tracks like “The Return” and “Stardate” are marked with that same cocky MC intellect. Unfortunately, this time around he doesn’t muster up quite the same level of hype.
However, after a brief encore that included an impressive cover of The Gorillaz’ “Clint Eastwood,” for which Dan the Automator stood front and center, playing the role of musical conductor to the rest of the band, there was no doubt remaining that the three musical masterminds were having just as much fun up on stage as the mesmerized fans in the crowd.
Tuesday night’s show not only marked the beginning of Deltron’s nationwide tour, but proved a testament to theircontinued relevance in the hip hop genre.
