Music / banksy
Review: DJ Yoda, Dismaland
After the dismal morning of “wot no tickets!!” we actually got lucky…and it was well worth the trip. On arrival outside the disused Tropicana Lido on Weston super-Mare’s vast seafront we were led through a cardboard security screening room. Everything from the security guards’ hats to the ‘Cavity Search’ gloves are made by artist/filmmaker Bill Barminksi, the whole experience is very strange with security hand picking any smiling punters for questioning.
It’s clear from entering Dismaland as you are confronted by a burnt out pink castle that the whole experience is supposed to feel odd. The tannoy system pipes dreary Hawaiian music which is interrupted randomly with a screech of feedback and some words of wisdom. The staff are un-helpful, look miserable and disinterested – deliberately so; it’s supposed to be a strange and uncomfortably miserable experience.
The art galleries are open and it worth noting that there are a lot of influential artists here with some fantastic pieces by Jimmy Cauty, Josh Keyes and as well as Banksy himself. Nighttime certainly makes the grotesque amusement park come to life so take a ride on the big wheel, play hook a duck from the muck (the staff will ensure you go away disappointed), topple the anvil or ride the carousel with glowing references to the horse meat scandal.
As the sun set to the east, Dismaland’s mood changed to a more festival atmosphere. This was the first of the Friday night ‘Live events’ and Breakbeat Lou is warming the crowd up from the stage, which is the back of a truck and a huge PA system. After we trudged off to explore and missed the special guest, who turned out to be hip hop artist Yaslin Bey, better known as Mos Def.
Headliner DJ Yoda didn’t disappoint. He is a master of his craft, cutting and pasting songs with visuals that make you laugh out loud. We skipped through songs at a monumental speed from the Clash to A Tribe called Quest to Van Halen and into Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious also being given the DJ Yoda treatment, all interspersed with bizarre clips from TV ads and retro shows. The whole show was uplifting and a work of art in itself.
The Dismaland experience left everyone smiling which is kind of anarchy when you’re told you’re not allowed to.
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