One thing is clear from the jump at a DubFX show: everybody is there to experience something more than music.
At the final show on his North American tour, DubFX himself was no exception. His usual companion Flower Fairy couldn’t make it to this show, and as a result there was a much more intense and raw aspect that wasn’t present at his previous San Diego show earlier this year.
When asked about the low turnout, nobody seemed to worry.
“You’ve got to give Americans a blowjob before they’ll come (to shows),” said Cade Andersen, a friend of Dub’s and a guest performer for the show.
DubFX himself said he wasn’t concerned about the low turnout in San Diego, indicating that other venues on the tour were packed.
“I just did Canada, and people came in numbers,” he said explaining that show turnout in different countries can be all over the charts. “(America) has a more wide-span culture,” he said explaining that the size and freedoms of our country make it harder for performers to really breakout here.
He expressed his feelings that dub music is still in its infancy in North America so he wasn’t surprised to hear that an artist like himself was considered “underground.” He also said that starting out as a street performer made him thankful to preform on a real stage even to a less-than-full-house.
DubFX is unique even in the dub scene though. Instead of using various computer programs to created background music he uses his own voice and looping equipment to create his own background tracks during every performance. In particular at his last U.S. show he created many tracks live on stage with Cade creating raps to accompany them.
This contrasted with his other San Diego show which had a relaxed feeling, this show was raw and showed fans a side of DubFX that they might have been unaware of.
With much heavier beats and more pointed lyrics coming from Cade, the show seemed to function as a catharsis for DubFX. Without his usual companion Flower Fairy there to balance his act, he was able to say goodbye to North America on his own terms.
After the show DubFX and his crew joined fans and fellow street performers outside for a session of freestyle rapping and beat-boxing. He left America with the final statement: “I don’t give a s—t if anyone likes it, as long as I do.”
