The future is now: Deltron 3030 at Tattoo

Walking up Queen West to Tattoo nightclub the street was observed into a small but tight lineup lit up by the late afternoon sun. Tattoo is not known for early shows, if anything their shows usually start late, but this past Saturday the club filled up early for no one other than Deltron 3030 crew.

While the warm sun rays were still fighting their way through the doors Kid Koala (Eric San) entered the stage for the opening show. San didn’t seem to be phased by the thin crowd and went straight into the set with his usual 3-turntable set up. Giving the night a slow and smooth start with older tracks, like “Drunk Trumpet” and “Moon River,” San got most of the room move closer to the stage. In his true tradition (minus the koala suit) following an overly excited 8 o’clock announcement Koala got into the pit for “Yo Gabba Gabba” and to my surprise almost everyone in the room got down to the ground with him. The second half of the set picked up the pace with some new renditions of Beastie Boys, White Stripes, and some classics from the Bug and Outcast.

Within a few minutes of a short break the room filled in and the full Deltron 3030 team (Del the Funky Homosapien, Dan the Automator, and Kid Koala) joined by a couple additional band members, came out on stage. Del, wearing what seemed like a picnic blanket back pack, spared no time on small talk, the beats and the words went flying into the crowd as soon as he got to the center of the stage.

The trio has been touring with Event II since the album came out last year. Despite the over a decade long break since the first album the audience acted like no time had past. There is something about  clean, sharp, thematic hip hop shows accentuated by a scratch DJ that can always get the crowd going. Bopping, thrusting their fists up in the air, and singing along the audience seemed to love it all. Playing a mix of tracks from the first, self-titled, album and and  Event II Del danced while Dan occasionally rapped over in cool composure making eye contact with small bits of the audience.

Event II is a concept album about a hero from the future but something, everything about this show felt more like the past. Deltron 3030 have a fairly distinct sounds and if that sound is not new to you now than it will take you back to the party days of 2001. Lucky for them sometimes nostalgia is just the right thing.