Hip hop artist is a fan of Norwich

Guess who's coming...well, actually I knew. It was DJ Shadow and he was going to play in a big ball.

The California hip hop artist certainly doesn't lack creativity. After all, his work is about taking samples of obscure tracks and turning them into something rather special.

His amazing first album, Endtroducing, was, in 2002, listed as Muzik magazine's number one dance album ever. Nothing in the genre since has surpassed it.

And, with his fourth album The Less You Know, The Better to be released in September, Shadow is on the beat again. Ahead of a Glastonbury set, he stopped off at the UEA to play one of only two non-festival gigs this summer.

He told the crowd he loves the atmosphere in Norwich so decided to play here: 'It's high pressure at Glastonbury. Tonight I'm just gonna have some fun.'

And he certainly shared that with the crowd. It was a rip-roaring set with loads of new tunes and the odd old favourite such as Organ Donor and a touch of Building Steam With A Grain of Salt.

But the orb - or rather the projections on to it - provided the real wow factor. Shadow played from inside and half the time with his back to the crowd so the full visual effects could be appreciated.

He got the crowd onside immediately through pictures of our Fine City and it was a feast for the eyes, as well as the ears, from then on. The highlight saw the orb transformed into various types of balls while the backdrop changed from a basketball court to a baseball field to a tenpin bowling alley to a pool table.

What topped off the night, for me anyway, was the little smile towards the end of the set. This guy loves what he does and loves bringing it to Norwich. Thank you.