The latest gig on our A to Z Musical Tour was ……
As I headed to Edinburgh for the third time in short order, there were yet again a couple of firsts to add into the memory banks.
First time I’d attended a gig at The Liquid Rooms. From the moment the security team did their utmost to make sure I got in, after a ticketing issue between Ticketmaster and Royal Mail, until I and all the others left, the vibe across the night was fantastic in a venue that seems perfectly designed for gigs of this size and stature. Definitely coming back here.
As far as I can remember, it was also the first time I’d seen the Stereo MC’s live. They didn’t disappoint. Expectations were relatively high having been familiar with their music since the mid-1980s when they won a couple of Brit Awards for Best Album and Best Live Act and a Mercury Prize nomination.
However, no matter how much you listen to the music that’s been recorded, re-mastered, re-mixed and even re-released, it’s always the live setting that’s the Gold Standard of how a band performs.
Stereo MC’s are Rob Birch (Rob B) on vocals and audience cheerleader, Nick Hallam on the all-important decks and laptops, Cath Coffey on backing vocals and dance movesand Tansay Omar all round percussionist.
Stereo MC’s not only met the Gold Standard of expectations, they exceeded it with plentiful amounts of energy, good vibes and hip-hop tunes that reminded you of all those good nights in clubland.
Kicking off with Pressure, they certainly kept up that high energy pressure over the next 90 minutes or so with a mix of international hits and well-known album tracks.
‘Connected’, ‘Step It Up’, ‘Creation’, ‘Ground Level’ and ‘Deep Down & Dirty’ were all in the mix and the audience certainly felt ‘connected’ to the band as Rob B engaged them in a call and response across a couple of well kent tracks.
Hip hop lyrics are always testing on the ear as they’re often punched out at a rapid rate. The mixing of the backing tracks is therefore critical to the way songs develop during their performance. With timely backing vocals and harmonies, augmented by lively percussions, the Stereo MC’s blend all that’s good about the mix between Hip Hop and Dance.
The 10pm curfew at the Liquid Rooms brought the set to a premature end, though everyone was delighted with what they had witnessed. After all these years, it’s great to see a band still at the top of their game. It was a long wait and proved very worthwhile.
Support
Bea Asha
Internationally renowned band ask a local Edinburgh lassie to open for them at The Liquid Rooms. According to said Edinburgh lassie, life doesn’t get much better for Bea Asha and she was not overwhelmed one bit by the weigh of expectation that she may have felt.
Bea is not totally new on the scene though being long listed for this year’s SAY (Scottish Album of the Year) Award with the album Goodbye, Gracious. I’d recommend a listen. It’s none too shabby at all!
Several songs were stories told through the spoken word with an overlay backing track performed by her DJ partner on stage. They obviously reflect some of her feelings during the writing and recording process and touched on topics that could be difficult for others to discuss. If anything, it added to her performance that she was so open with her feelings.
Where the short set did come alive though was in the up-tempo songs that had the audience dancing in time with her own stage movements.
Her voice sometimes hinted at an Amy Winehouse influence and, along with the songwriting capabilities, she is one we might just here a bit more of in the years to come.
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