Badass shot by Holy Mountain, from HARD Haunted Mansion 2009
When M.I.A. sang "no one on the corner has swagger like us," was she talking about herself and Bob Rifo? Because that man has SWAGGER.
Bob Rifo, aka Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo, aka leader of the Bloody Beetroots -Death Crew 77-, aka the "Rifo" part of "Rifoki," aka Bobermann, is a producer/dj/vocalist/punk rocker/Italian man/comic nerd who never shows his face.
Bob Rifo on guitar at HARD LA 4/25 (pic from Holy Mountain)
The Bloody Beetroots are an electronic trio (formerly duo) consisting of Bob Rifo, DJ Tommy Tea & drummer Edward Grinch. They make banging electronic music and tons of remixes. What's awesome is that they're actually punks who have crossed over into electronic music, and crossing genres is always good in our DGAF books. Bob Rifo's often caught wearing a Black Flag or Misfits shirt or something. He even has a Black Flag tat!
photo by Caesar Sebastian, HHM 2009
And he makes amazing, well-composed electronic music! It's not even just something nice to dance to, there's thought and concept behind it. Check their website for manifesto and other things to read.
Maybe I'm just impressed because I've run into too much "real punk rockers don't do that DJ crap"/"there's only one genre of music that's good and it's the one i like" kind of mentality lately. Bob Rifo did an interview with Don't Party a while ago:
Punk and Anarchy are big words for anyone to shoulder. Anyone who wants to adopt this philosophy has a big responsibility and a duty not to betray it. I try to encourage freedom and independence through the channels that are available to me. One musical genre just ain’t enough for me.
I just think that's fucking badass.
HARD @ the Palladium 4/24:
Holy shitballs. It was amazing. Look at him run across the stage! He has so much energy and rocks the stage so hard.
Recently, Bob Rifo teamed up with DJ Steve Aoki to form Rifoki (Rifo + Aoki = Rifoki, get it? eh? eh???). They're like hardcore BFF's (that doesn't make any sense, but just pretend it does).
RIFOKI made their live performance debut at the Palladium, as well. From where I was on the mezzanine, I could see mosh pits happening on the floor. Fuck yes.
See, that's one of the best things about the Bloody Beetroots, and about the current electro eclecticism in general: lately, artists and DJ's aren't afraid to wear their diverse influences on their sleeves and play whatever the fuck they want, how they want. Fortunately, this time around, it's not an awkward or clumsy hybrid like, you know, rap-metal. Thanks to HARD, we've been able to witness some of the best and most DGAF DJ's and artists in electro right now, and two nights of Bloody Beetroots in a row at the Palladium were absolutely no exception.
Bloody Beetroots Death Crew 77 at The Palladium! 4/25/2010 photo: Holy Mountain
After a pit stop at the The Waffle next door, we made it in time for Sidney Samson, who were were totally psyched to see because of, well, "Riverside." Need we say more? We walked in as he was playing the Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" and the crowd was already going wild. Sidney Samson was unexpectedly '90s, as he also dropped Red Hot Chili Peppers twice and managed to mash up his own "Riverside" with Oasis' "Wonderwall"??? A pretty DGAF feat. I would DEFINITELY love to see him spin again!
Look at them go! photo: Holy Mountain
Now the Beetroots and Death Crew 77... where do I start??? They manage to really capture the energy of punk without letting anything get in their way. Instead of watering it down with electro, they complemented it. Instead of letting a bigger venue dilute it, they used it to blow it up. Electronic music and live instrument combinations can be half-assed and gimmicky if not integrated properly, but Death Crew 77 know EXACTLY what they're doing and their results are nothing short of exhilarating, as they've pushed everything a step further beyond its limits and managed to pull it off effortlessly.
Ed Grinch tearin' it up! photo: Holy Mountain
Bloody Beetroots play a decent DJ set, but I felt that this was their true, epic, DGAF element. Their DJ sets don't quite capture their spirit nearly as much as Death Crew 77 does. I don't remember rocking so hard at a show in a long time, and that includes all genres of music. Steve Aoki proved to be surprisingly punk as fuck too. I don't know how I survived 2 nights in a row, but it was insanely worth it. Exhausting, but I have absolutely no regrets.
Beetroots wave! or just cheering. photo: Holy Mountain
It's so obvious Bob Rifo has shitloads of stage presence, and there is early proof in "Kinky Malinki." Even before the Beetroots, Death Crew 77, or Rifoki, Bob Rifo had a band and was making catchy pop punk. We are in love with this song, which never gets old no matter how many times we repetitively play it on YouTube:
Come on. The makeup. The facial expressions. The little yellow keyboard he pounds. And then he smashes a bottle over his head. DGAF. end of story.
Oh yeah, check them out
deathcrew77.com
myspace.com/thebloodybeetroots
twitter.com/bloodybeetroots
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