Bonobo started the night off around midnight on the unusual left side of the Le Poisson Rouge stage. Right away, being a Sunday night and half as packed as I normally find LPR, you could tell the crowd was there strictly for Bonobo. But that also made for an amazing, chilled out, intimate show. People were really into it and digging his DJ style, dancing the night away without feeling like a sweaty sardine. The people I met were awesome, loving life, & cheering; you could tell they couldn’t have been more excited for Simon Green to give us a personal taste of his dancefloor vibes.
The vibes were very upbeat and dance-y, yet not specific to one style of electronic music. Also, he didn’t spin only his music, making it a true “DJ” set. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that he didn’t just stand there and press play on all his usual Bonobo jams, leaving most of those songs for his full band performances. He was spinning vinyl with Serato, and didn’t skip a beat the entire 2 hours. Simon is one of those DJ’s who feeds off the crowd and plays what the situation calls for, and what better way to bless NYC on a Sunday night than with some soulful samba-esque MoTown dance beats. Many of the tunes he was playing included a lot of world instruments such as horns, bells & glockenspiels. Throwing in a lot of European pop tracks backed by tight, upbeat, heavy Drum n Bass- it was easy to tell where his influences come from.
Also included in his set were some tracks from his lesser known side project, Barakas. His transitions were smooth and kept the crowd on their toes- not just because we were dancing, but because we weren’t able to predict what he would be going into next. Overall, it was an outstanding show which only a few lucky people got to experience. So, in case you weren’t there or just want to relive the experience, enjoy the pictures, videos & last half hour recording of the set below!!!
NYC will get lucky again in December when the Disco Biscuits bring their now infamous late night series of shows back to Highline Ballroom. On December 27th at 12 Midnight, two of my favorite artists will bring one of the most promising shows to the ever growing Northeast Electronic scene. Big Gigantic (expect an interview & post soon!) and Bonobo (DJ set) will rage the Disco Biscuits After Party and bring a belated Christmas present to us all!!!
As an early Holiday present from yours truly, DizzUrt, Ive included a BRAND NEW BONOBO TRACK in this post, from his new album slated with an early 2010 release!! This track is the first single called “The Keeper” and is a live soundboard recording. The song features the amazing soulful singer Kathrin Deboer, who Bonobo has been diligently working with lately.
Bonobo – The Keeper (NEW SINGLE!)
Label Mates with Blockhead – Ninja Tune
Bonobos Website
Tickets to Bonobo & Big Gigantic @ Highline NYC – 12/27
- Last 30minutes of the LPR Set:
(excuse the quality, LiS’s first recording!)
BONUS VIDEO-
Related show
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Nothing is Something Worth Doing. Turn up the Silence. Levitation Nation. Vapor Rumours. Connoisseur of Hallucination. Monster Hit. Walking Backwards Through a Cosmic Mirror. When Shall I be Free? Room 23. Shiva Space. My Head Feels Like a Frisbee. A New Way to say Hooray. Once Upon the Sea of Blissful Awareness. 
was apprehensive about seeing a Bonobo DJ set after the heavenly full band show at Camp Bisco this past summer. However, all those thoughts are tossed aside, definitely will be making my way to Bonobo and Big Gigantic in Dec!!
i really like this post, great work Dizzaster!
Hi, just read this post, found it on my usual surfing tangents. I will definately be coming back. Can’t wait to read through some more of these blogs…
Hi, thanks for the great read.