Kid Koala, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

Starting to scratch at the age of 12, he explained, “All my friends at school got interested in sport, I was shit at sport! So I thought, why not spin records? I would practice all day everyday”.  Now 38, Eric has been DJing for 26 years, and it really does show. Opening the first night of his 15 stop European tour here in Leeds at the Brudenell Social Club is an atmospheric and intimate start. Before Kid Koala even enters the stage we knows this really is going to be – as it says on the flyer – ‘the silliest show on earth’. Joining the tour is Adira Amram and The Experience, the hilarious yet gorgeous trio of dancers, all the way from New York! I am intrigued to know just how two amazing yet polar opposite acts had intertwined to create this spectacular performance. Eric explains he had met Adira in New York and she already had this wonderful act which was comical, fun and carefree. He tells of how he wanted to craft something which wasn’t, “just the crowd watching me turn some vinyl, I wanted to play this album but I needed to be saved from a situation of crickets”. His intention was to make DJing more an of entertainment act and from his meeting with Adira was born the concept for the Vinyl Vaudeville 2.0 tour.

The night begins with a hilarious musical comedy sketch from Adira Amram and her dancing girls. Dressed in luminous lycra they got the crowd giggling with their silly lyrics and amusing dance routines. With the crowd firmly warmed-up, Kid Koala humbly arrives onstage to a gracious uproar from his doting fans. ‘1 Bit Blues’ opens the set - the first track from his new album release, 12 Bit Blues, which mixes across his three turntables with what looks to be great ease. His modern interpretation of vintage blues masterpieces is such a refreshing change. Eric acknowledges that he knew his type of music wasn’t going to make it big in the mainstream club scene as some of the tracks are slow, down-tempo beats, such as ‘3 Bit Blues’ - a low-down, darker number that rings true to the classic blues style. The gospel cries and deep, scratching guitar riffs add a desolate tone but Kid Koala still manages to get your feet moving in time to the slow rhythm. Talking us further through his album, each song has a different element of surprise. ‘7 Bit Blues’, Eric declares, was his daughter’s favourite track and so naturally, he emerged in a Koala outfit. Kid Koala possesses a rare quality of joviality that many other musicians on his level completely lack.

It is difficult to pinpoint a highlight of this wacky spectacle; but the eagerness of Kid Koala and his dancing team to get his fans involved would have to be one! From forming a giant conga line to a limbo competition, the audience are always dying to get going! After throwing kazoos into the crowd, participants are then invited on stage to battle against one another in what we believe to be described as a ‘kazoo off’! Eric tells us after the show that this one of the best things about performing, “I mean anything can happen up there!  Take the Kazoo battle – we don’t know how the audience are going to react, but tonight was great! Every single night is different and that’s what I love!”

We hear elements of Mr Scruff and The Herbaliser in Kid Koala’s music, but the uniqueness of his show as a whole deems him incomparable to anything heard before! The very passion that is seen in Eric San when performing is a humbling experience within itself. Nowehere else will you witness a cabaret of laughs, entertainment, dancing and exquisite music bound together in such a unique and creative way. Put simply, brilliant.

Look out next week for more of Emily's photographs from the show.