Derrick Carter Jerry Bonham

Nobody seems to have briefed Derrick Carter on the rules of being a world-renowned DJ. First, world-renowned DJs don’t come from the western suburbs of Chicago. They hail from dark basements hidden beneath the seedy underbelly of London. Second, famous DJs aren’t meaty black guys rocking backward hats. They are pale, malnourished white dudes wearing soiled T-shirts. Most important, superstar DJs have superstar DJ names. Names like DJ Exxstasy or DJ Wicked Cool or DJ Intestinal Blockage. In short, they don’t have names, let alone ho-hum names like Derrick Carter. Of course, I just made up those rules. But DC hasn’t followed a conventional path to the top of the house-spinning heap. And it’s a good thing, because world-renowned DJs don’t hit these parts often, and with San Francisco progressive deck-handler Jerry Bonham landing at the Kabal on Saturday night, lightning will strike twice in the same place. So much for rules.