Kid Koala's Live From the Short Attention Span Audio Theater Tour

reviewed by anna battista

In the fall of 2003, Montreal based turntablist and sampler Kid Koala, aka Eric San, took his most ambitious show ever – the Short Attention Span Theatre Tour - on the road in support of his album Some of My Best Friends Are DJs and his graphic novel Nufonia Must Fall. Those lucky ones who managed to see him live must have realised the Kid is unique: his tour was a combination of music, animations, comedy and, well, bingo.

This EP contains a 5 track audio CD and a DVD with the images of the London gig that took place in November 2003, plus short surreal films by Monkmus, the weird ‘Basin Street Blues’ video, the trailer for Nufonia Must Fall and a bingo game (you’ll find the bingo card in the CD package).

During the gig, Kid Koala presents a sort of turntable band made up of himself, P-Love and DJ Jester. The gig sparks with energy: Kid Koala jokes, nods his head to the rhythm and introduces his songs and the guest DJs. The tracks are a mish-mash of sounds and genres from jazz to rock, from blues to dance, the whole spiced up with hilarious samples: ‘Stompin’ at le Savoi’ is a funky track titled after the Montreal club where Kid Koala started DJing; the spaced out ‘Page 275’ is inspired by a page of Nufonia Must Fall, while the highlight of the night is the relentless ska of ‘Skanky Panky’. The DVD images also give an insight on the turntable skills of the band: fingers run fast and agile on vinyl, alternating from the records to the cross fader, creating quirky funky beats.

“It only gets weirder from here,” says a quote at the end of the DVD credits and you can bet Kid Koala’s new album - on which he’s at present still working - will definitely be even weirder and better than this. In the meantime, we can just wait and enjoy this new release.

{www.kidkoala.com, www.ninjatune.net}