RJD2 arrives in Brooklyn as a robot, leaves as a star

March 06, 2010, at the Music Hall of Williamsburg

By Joanna McNaney
Published: March 11th, 2010 | 9:40am

Clouds of smoke drifted towards the stage when a man dressed up as a robot (welding mask, black bedazzled jumpsuit, and a portable sampler strapped to the front of his belt) walked down the stage. This was, of course, RJD2 or rather, his comical alter-ego who had decided he would introduce the show. With digital enhancements to his voice, robot RJ announced to the crowd, “[I’ve had] extensive upgrades and modifications to my crotch,” and then punched away at a few of the buttons on his belt buckle sampler — he spun it a full 360 degrees on his belt buckle to waves of laughter from the crowd.

As the robot turned his back to the audience, he revealed the name on the back of his robot outfit, “Commissioner Crotch Buttons.” After a bit more shtick with his sequencer, the robot made his way back behind his set up: a deck of three turntables, a mixer, and a sampler on each end. He then removed the robot attire to reveal the real RJD2 (Ramble John “RJ” Krohn), a tall and unassuming DJ/instrumentalist in his early thirties who was decorated with a Yankees T-shirt.

Accompanied by an obscure montage of video clips projected behind him, Krohn began the set by launching into his most recognizable tune, “A Beautiful Mine” (aka the theme of the hit show Mad Men), to roars of approval from the crowd. The standout of the night, however, came a few tunes later with the soul-inspired “Good Times Roll, Pt. 2” from his acclaimed 2002 debut Deadringer (Definitive Jux). Krohn turned down the sound to hear the audience’s ecstatic response and then finished the song by showcasing his seemingly effortless scratching abilities.

Most impressive about the set was Krohn’s ability to transition from mind-blowing DJ to singer and bandmate as he strapped on an electric guitar and joined a drummer, bassist, and keyboardist. With the full band, he performed a few favorites from his 2004 release, Since We Last Spoke including “Exotic Talk” and the powerful title track. Although, in these instances, the mix was a tad off and the keyboards overpowered some of the vocals.

As he returned once again to the home base of his turntables, the background projection now showed a close-up of the mixer and Krohn holding a stuffed animal Mario which he used to bang out a playful tribute to the arcade game. A slew of iPhones flew in the air to capture the moment from a show no one wanted to soon forget.

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RJD2 official site

RJD2 MySpace page

Definitive Jux Records