rock nyc's Layna Cloud raved about dubstep producer and DJ Big Chocolate a week or so ago and she did not lie. At the Studio At Webster Hall, Big Chocolate held the audience in the palm of his hand playing a variation on on Simon Says and playing with sonic heavy bass lines and drum sequences. The aural pounding is infectious and fun though dubstep has move so far from its true roots in trip-hop, it may never make it back.
The problem with the DJ as rock star is that if the beats are working, the audience should be dancing not watching. Many DJ's get stymied, David Guetta has the tude to pull himself free, but Will.I.Am can't. BC can. He bops, he jumps, he pulls girls out of the audience and lets them dance on stage for him, he is in constant movement between the deck and the front of the stage. And he gets everything he wants from the crowd.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the set, less so the second half. BC is a smart musician with endless patterns at his beck and call (listen to his remix of Breathe Carolina's "Blackout") and a certain arrogance though he sampled "I Won't Back Down" during one song (song? track). If you want to consume music instead of participate[ate.
While there are some crossover DJs, Guetta for one, but Oakenfeld, Dr. Luke, Tiesto, but really, if you want to be a rock star, you need to follow the example of bands like Drop the Lime and Holy Ghost: you need to form a group and build songs on beats. It is where dance is going.
Big Chocolate should be a star, will be a star, he is a great presence and a gifted musician. Now what?
Grade: B+