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Fingathing, DJ Format, Ugly Duckling, Breakestra, Shortkut. Fingathing were the main reason I went, I'd heard great things from friends who'd seen them before. A wo man combo comprising "Sneaky", a classically trained double bass player (who, unlike some hip hop bass players actually uses a bow as well as playing pizzacato) and Turntablist "Peter Parker". On this particular outing they were accompanied by their VJ who absolutely shamed the venue's "in house" VJs (not that that was particularly hard ;) ). I appeared that the VJ was playing the backing tracks on dat with the images synced, but the other two played along in a strictly regimented manner. Most tracks were almost identical to the album versions, down to every individual scratch. Close ups of the players hands projected by the VJ proved that it wasn't just a miming act, which as the quality of play was so high, was an accusation many people would level at them. The visuals fitted the duo's irreverant style perfectly, silly comic book wrestlers fighting while Parker scratched in time (he was actually looking away from the decks and up at the screens a lot of the time to make sure he was doing it in time). Stand out moments: Parker playing a small loop of the Jaws theme, Sneaky playing it back to him on the bass while the VJ had cartoon sharks swimming across the screen. The pair were great fun and really connected with the crowd, you could tell by the way parker spoke between tracks he was having a lot of fun (I think it was one of the largest venues they've played), he was very down to earth and humble. In short, one of the best live hip hop acts I've seen, only PE come close IMO. See them while they're still small and you can actually get tickets :) DJ Format: Awful, awful stuff. Technically inept DJ- whilst he didn't make many mistakes aside from a bit of dodgy beat juggling, he did *nothing* impressive or skilled bar literally about 8 scratches during a 30 min set, very little beat juggling (none to a high standard) and no be |
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and no beat mixing (not that I'd expect it at this sort of gig, but if you're not a "Turntabilist", you'd better at least be able to beat mix!). Damned awful MC and a show that was (in the words of D12) "Nothing but skits and interludes". Which would of been fine had they been funny and not copies of DJ food and Coldcut's gimmicks. Ugly Duckling: Good clean fun. Irreverant, light hearted hip hop, with a healthy knock at Ali G types in the hip hop fraternity. Made even funnier by the fact one MC looked like he was from an early 90s Northern soul group. Breakestra: Headlining act, very good, but IMO Fingathing should of headlined. Basically did what they said on the tin, a small orchestra that played breaks! There were lots of different instruments and some players played a couple and one singer. The net result was if you imagine a funk/hip hop DJ with beautifully seperated samples playing one long seamless set. My mate (who's an even fan of this sort of music than me) and I made a game of playing "spot the record". Hey, that lyric is from Woo-ha by Busta Rhymes... That brass bit- damn, what was the original called, it was sampled by The 45 king... etc. Shortkut: Didn't Show. Bit annoying, but Fingathing and Breakestra were good enough alone to justify the cost of entry. Overall: Very good, avoid DJs Format's stuff (especially live) like the plague, try to see Fingathing at all costs and if you can't pick up an album by them. |
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I like Fingathing, got one of their records... can't say I listen to it that much but they've certainly got a distinctive style... pretty original approach! |
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Seeing them live (with the visuals) was a bit like a live rendition of Qbert's Wave Twister's Video :) |
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Is it a big old fashioned upright double bass he uses? |
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Upright electric double bass, but classically syled- not like the metal ones groups like "Bond" use. His bow work was outstanding (I used to play Violin, so I appreciate how hard a lot of the stuff he was doing was). He had it wired up to a really cool guitar fx pedal, but kept the use of it to a minimum, so for most of the time it did just sound like a double bass with slightly exaggerated reverb. |
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I like the DJ Format stuff I've heard on record. But 'an early 90s northern soul group'? |
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Yes, I'd heard some Format on CD before and thought whilst it was nothing special, it was okay. It wasn't even the MC bringing him down- they had 2 other guest MCs during the set for one track and that was just as bad, despite thecomedy value of a guy shouting "Respect to the West Country". It wasn't a view I was alone in either, quite a large, vocal section of the crowd shared my displeasure and even went so far as booing at the end of some tracks. To his credit, the last two tracks he played were good (one was without the MC), but not enough to redeem them in my eyes. re: Ugly Duckling: White guy, with a typical "Madchester" dress sense/voice, who danced a bit like Bez and was swigging from a can of Carling between tracks :) |
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I noticed this gig. It was in the Club Ifor right? Well, hip hop acts are notorious for not working live (in many instances). Shame. I think you're getting mixed up mate. Northern soul refers to soul records from the 60s and 70sthat were played at northern soul clubs. Like the one in the new KFC ad. |
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cool review! i'm not too familiar with Fingathing but they sound fun, and i really like it when the artist is having FUN, it's really a shame when you go to a gig and they seem bored by it all. i like the name 'ugly duckling' .....eheheh anyway how long did the gig actually last, we people on their feet 'feelin' the music? |
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What a gip that ShortKut didn't turn up! |
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Yeah, no one else seemed bothered, even though despite not headlining, he was the biggest name act on the lineup! Lecoeur: Gig was about 6 hours, I stayed till near the end. It was pretty rammed and about 90% of the people there (myself included) seemed to be standing up the whole time. I was actually stretching my legs towards the end as they were aching so much. Jonesy: Yeah, some hip hop gigs lack sound booths which can cause a bit of a problem... this wasn't at the welshclub, it was at the Bristol Academy (although fingathing played the Welsh club before) You're right re: Northern Soul, I was mixing them up, cheers for putting me straight :) |
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