Some go to see DJs spin just to have something to bob their heads to. Others go to dance. Last Friday night, Oct 12th, when DJ Logic and Kid Koala spun at the Pitzer mounds it was, above all, a spiritual experience.

Last summer DJ Logic, a.k.a. Jason Kibler, released his second album The Anomaly. This aptly titled album spins a fresh mix of techno beats and New Orleans jazz flare. At times it feels something like the work of a jam band, at others like that of a marching band. But there’s always rhythm. DJ Logic takes what St. Germaine has done but adds buckets of flavor. (If Kenny G was ever cool, he would play stuff like this.)

DJ Logic has toured with many bands prior to this tour, most notably Medeski Martin and Wood. During this tour, however, he was with Project Logic. Although DJ Logic provides the beats and scratching Project Logic brings along an impressive ensemble. There is a keyboardist, a bass player, a guy on drums and Casey Benjamin. Benjamin deserves the spotlight because he can play anything and everything and did so last Friday night. He plays an amazing saxophone, the flute, guitar, Rhodes and ewi.

Prior to this tour, Kid Koala toured as an opener for Radiohead. I unfortunately only caught the last song of his set. However, he did seem to have an interesting mix with the band Bullfrog which threw in guitars and Caribbean percussion in with his fast beats.

At the start of DJ Logic’s set most 5-C students were sitting on the ground–as if at a picnic. They laid back, enjoying the music and gazing at the stars. The mounds are a beautiful place to chill, and to talk with friends. I felt like I was in high school again.

However, as the night progressed and more students became attuned to Project Logic’s jazzy beats, the crowd that was dancing grew, morphing from a small group of high and or tripping Pitzer and Pomona students to everyone at the show.

Logic and his band were surprisingly exciting to watch on stage. One may think that a DJ isn’t much to watch in such a situation, but Logic was truly in tune with his music. His headbobs and knee-bends were perfectly timed with his scratching and beat boxing. The other members of the bands were in a similar groove, engulfed in the music.

Although DJ Logic was center stage–and looked very cool there–he really didn’t seem to add too much musically. He would just lay down some beats and repeat them over and over again throughout the song, with some impromptu scratching and beatboxing in between. Benjamin was the real star making the music flare, whether he was pulling out the ewi or shoving something down his throat to sound like Peter Frampton — or so my friends tell me.

This really was a spiritual experience. For most of the show, I was sitting on a stoop watching the crowd dance and having epiphanies about Pomona and my place here.

As I watched the different people dance together — some with dreadlocks, some trying to grow dreadlocks, others with piercings and tattoos — I noticed how everyone had a different rhythm. Some were in tune with Project Logic’s music, others were not. A sudden feeling of empathy overtook me and I realized how cool everyone at our college is. Everyone here has so much depth. There are so many talents and hidden quirks here that defy all stereotypes.

As DJ Logic’s set started to climax, these feelings did too. It’s like people we see everyday here actually care about life and lust after and enjoy it. And there are so many people that I would like to get to know inside and out, let alone meet. It’s quite overwhelming. As I sat on the mounds and watched the various groups dancing, I thought to myself that if I happened into a room and saw a bunch of people dancing, that is the group I would like to be with.

Maybe I’m just an ignorant, innocent freshman. Maybe I need to stop altering my mental states before concerts so I can report them accurately. Hell, maybe it was DJ Logic that brought on my feelings at the time. But they’re pretty cool feelings nonetheless, and everyone should have a newspaper as an outlet for them.

Anyway, if you were at the Project Logic show, you know it blew everyone’s mind. Send emails to the Claremont Concert Series people to bring them back. If you didn’t get a chance to go the show, go buy The Anomaly, or other works by Project Logic or Medeski, Martin and Wood. Then go out and see them on tour. You won’t be disappointed.