After 30 years of riding high on the party bus, Fatboy Slim (real name Norman Cook) put away the cocktail shaker and has been sober for the past year and a half. Now he’s taking care of his two children and running in half marathons.
Cook shook the Taipei World Trade Center Hall 2 (台北世貿二館) to the ground on Sunday night, awing 7,000 fans with his audio-visual show, as well as his frolicsome antics behind the turntables.
“The worst thing [about sobriety] is if you’re not really up for a gig, a drink would be a real nice way to get going,” Cook said in an interview before his show. “The best thing is that I’m always able to get to the next gig.”
Photo: Steven Vigar
“It’s always such a good feeling from shows. Now, I remember them,” Cook said.
Air horn in hand, barefoot and wearing baggy shorts and his trademark Hawaiian shirt unbuttoned half way, Cook stormed the stage. As soon as the first notes of Praise You blasted from the speakers, the crowd erupted, and there was no let up for the next two hours.
“I’ve learned a bit about stagecraft and presence over the years,” Cook said. “This is a rock show based around a DJ, instead of just a DJ standing there.”
Photo: Steven Vigar
Cook consummately captured the big room sound, mixing in hits of today (Dennis Ferrer, Hey Hey), his classics (Right Here, Right Now), bootlegs of his songs (Ronario’s remix of Cook’s Star 69) and hip-hop staples (DJ Kool’s Let Me Clear My Throat, House of Pain’s Jump Around). He even threw in a capella vocals (Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger, Oasis’ Wonderwall) for fun.
It would be hard for any other DJ to play those songs and not be considered cheesy or trashy, but Cook pulled it
off with ease because of his diverse
musical background.
“I take the good bits of everything I hear,” Cook said. “I think I have the pop sensibilities of the Beatles, the punk attitude of the 1970s, and I’ve always enjoyed hip-hop.”
At one point during Weapon of Choice, the visuals remixed Christopher Walken’s already cheeky dancing from the music video and placed him inside of an upside-down pyramid. The stellar laser-LED screen combination and epic breakdowns in the music elicited smiles all around.
As a finale, Cook quickly worked through a slew of hits, including Ludicris’ How Low and his own The Rockafeller Skank, before ending the show with a remix of Praise You, the song he opened with.
“A lot of people still think I play big beat, but I play mostly house, electro and fidget. One promoter even thought I sang on my songs,” Cook said. “When I get on stage, I don’t know what I’m going to play. I only know what song I’m going to start with and what I’m going to end with.”
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