Before telling the crowd at the Hult Saturday night “I consider myself a citizen of the world, but I was born in Eugene, Oregon” (to huge applause), RJD2 said what was on everyone’s mind: “This is really fucking awesome.”
(Photo collage by Athena Delene)
The show started with a few hiccups; backstage, several of the musicians, dancers and artists of the 100-plus motley crew seemed confused about where to be and when. And for the first third of the show, there were more people partying in the lobby then there were in the concert hall. But, once the show gained momentum, it took off like a rocket.
Here are some of the highlights:
-The guys of Medium Troy sported some sweet Sgt. Pepper-style waist coasts. JoJo Ferreira’s coat was embellished with splashes of gold sequins — he had to wear something to match his gold-sequined thong (worn over pantaloons, mind you).
-The band brought bundles of energy to the stage, sending the audience along on a beautiful, crazy trip. And the guest vocals of Bettreena Jaeger (the Betty of Betty and the Boy) brought their music to a new, ephemeral level.
-Devin the Dude (pictured below) added a playful hip-hop edge to the evening, driving the fans in front (the first 30 rows of seats were cleared for a dance floor) absolutely batty. And then he lit up on stage, soliciting roars from the crowd, filling the hall with puffs of smoke that floated up to Light at Play’s LED Radiance Dome, emitting a certain sweet aroma. Word is that Devin the Dude filmed a music video with local production company Artistic Outlet Media while he was in town.
-The Space Invaders (a local breakdancing crew) and contemporary ballet dancer Katie Scherman’s whipped the crowd into a frenzy with their Chopin-meets-glitch-hop dance numbers. When they came back for an encore performance during RJD2’s set, RJD2 threw up his arms in can-you-believe-this-is-happening amusement, turning around to see if the Dub Orchestra had the same reaction.
-Harmonic Laboratory composer and conductor Jeremy Schropp, outfitted in a bright yellow Sgt. Pepper coat, led the Dub Orchestra to RJD2’s 1976 with RJD2 (pictured below). This ushered in the finale with hot and punchy performances by Work Dance Company, Broadway Revue Burlesque, Red Moon Rising and many more. 
-The Aerial Silks dancer defied gravity and human limitations 20 feet above the stage during many of the music sets.
-The costumes. Eugene brought it with costumes ranging from raver chic to 19th-century dapper dub.
And for good measure, here’s a shot of RJD2’s vinyl stash that he was pulling from throughout the show (photo by Robyn Louden):
More pictures coming soon.
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