Jazz Café
17/11/2005
Kung Fu, London’s best hip hop club night, brought about a change of scenery as it upped sticks from the Underworld to bop across the road to the Jazz Café for the first time and boasted a might line up, headlined by the ever-fresh Jehst. Getting in just before The Colony took to the stage proved difficult as the venue was packed to bursting point, but once there the ears were treated to a tight set which included a somewhat controversial ending when Grimlock’s accapella ended in a line about Jamie Bulger. Nonetheless, the crowd were bopping and after some fine time filling by Sarah and Harry Love, Micall Parknsun and Dubble Edge bumped the stage with some nice heavy beats and again, got the crowd head nodding.
But whilst the support were good, and Mystro’s character never dimmed throughout the entire night as he hosted the show, it was nothing to when Billy Brimstone stepped to the stage with Asaviour and DJ IQ. The night was an album launch for his new EP “Nuke Proof Suit” and immediately the bass heavy beat dropped and the necks snapped and heads bounced as Jehst’s typical uncompromising flow showcased his new space-age lyrical content and ability to ride a beat so heavy it felt like we were being transported into the eye of Hurricane Katrina.
Asaviour proved himself to be more than just a hype man, winding his way left and right across the stage, belting out verses of his own, dropping a couple of his own tracks and feeling the beat like no other, with his eyes closed and a never ending bounce in his step. Sir Smurf Lil and Micall Parknsun both jumped on stage for a track to much delight. But four tracks really stood out which took the night to that next level shit. “Hydro Blowback“, one of the cuts on his new erupted from the speakers with an unnerving flow, the bass riding low under his vocals giving it a haunting quality, pushing you into a dark alley, leaving you paranoid and looking over your shoulder. The title track was also a sure fire winner. A stomping cruncher of a beat brought about high pitched yowling samples as Jehst pumped up the club tune making it impossible not to bus’ a move in your own little spot.
The final two tracks were what the crowd were baying for however, as Jehst dropped “People Under The Weather“, the scatting drums and hard snare snaps dragging heads forward and backward. Asaviour’s opening verse killed it immediately, as he showed no let up from his energetic performance before handing it over to Jehst whose river-like flow and delivery left some open mouthed, but most howling in delight. That howling only increased when “High Plains Anthem” finally wound its way to the ear drums, and it was more like a karaoke singalong than a performance, but that only made the atmosphere even better.
The rhymepage primate slammed himself back at the top of the tree after a couple of years out, and on tonight’s performance its going to be Jehst Proof Suits people will need, because this guy’s live set is pure radioactive material.
Sam Hesketh
The More I See feature ex-Prodigy guitarist Gizz Butt on guitar and are the result of Gizz’s misspent youth spent listening to equal parts metal and punk, cutting his teeth in metal inspired punk bands like The Desecrators and English Dogs, he found brief fame as the punk guitarist in the Prodigy during their controversial hit single period, before returning to relative obscurity with melodic punks Janus Stark then seeing a return to a more metal approach with The More I See. And in many ways they are the ideal support band for Exodus tonight as they have their roots firmly set in the eighties thrash metal explosion that tonight’s headliners hail from. It’s a shame that a muted response from a crowd only really interested in the headliners and a seemingly endless succession of technical problems stop the band from really getting into their stride, but for the most part, they play a solid competent set of old school metal thrills.
Exodus were originally formed back in 1982 by guitarist Gary Holt and future Metallica man Kirk Hammet and were one of the most exciting and powerful metal bands of the era, creating one of the genre’s true classics in their debut release ‘Bonded By Blood’ – a record that is twice as vicious and fast as Metallica’s debut and only really bettered by Slayer in the aggression stakes. However, Exodus have had more then their fair share of bad luck over the years and have been plagued by line-up problems and the tragic and sudden death of original singer Paul Baloff in 2002. But this is not a band that will be stopped easily. ‘Certain members decided they’d rather stay home than do this,’ spits an obviously pissed off Gary Holt. ‘But I will never let Exodus die!‘ And from the moment they hit the stage, they play like a band that has never been more alive! Charging straight into their first album’s title track ‘Bonded By Blood‘, the whole venue explodes in waves of energy as the new revigorated and revamped band bark and snap at the front of the stage like rabid pitbulls.
They might have been Public Enemy Number 1 fifteen years ago, but today they don’t even make the top fifty most wanted. In hip hop circles, Public Enemy dropped further and further off the radar with every new release after Apocalypse 91 – The Enemy Strikes Back, so it’s no surprise that the Forum’s not even full to half capacity. Seems the kids just don’t care anymore for Chuck D’s rhetoric.
I’ve never seen this venue so full. The night kicks off with an explosive 3-piece Electric Eel Shock, who take no prisoners. These little Japanese guys have the biggest, hardest sound. Think Metallica cross Led Zeppelin. Complete Rock ‘n Roll in the most classic sense~even though they are classified as Garage-Metal. Combined with a fantastic stage performance and a healthy balance of nudity, they played a mental show I would definitely sign up for again. Big hair, big personalities and a healthy dose of originality make them a performance not easily forgotten.
Bloodhound Gang! They start off with some favourites, new tracks from their 2005 ‘Hefty Fine‘ release and, some old classics from ‘Hooray for Boobies‘. And yes, some of the Tesco Essex girls (I never said it-they did!) in the crowd took that quite literally! Every word was sung like it was a mantra. They threw in ‘The ballad of Chasey Lain‘, ‘Along comes Mary‘ and, ‘Hell yeah‘-enough reminiscence to make you feel 16 all over again. Their new album may not be a musical wonder, but their humor and stage antics definitely make it an entertaining show. Jimmy Pop seems to have followed in Steve O’s steps and done course at circus school. It must have been all that time off between their last album release in 2002! 
Their new album is cheesier, and has a vast amount of dick ‘n’ fart jokes! Their 2005 claim to fame would be Bam Margera’s guest appearance in the music video for ‘Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo‘ ~obviously in true BG style that spells FUCK. That and their petition to get their new track “Pennsylvania” to become the new Keystone State’s anthem! (*see their website for more details-
So this is where the music industry hang out on a Wednesday night then. Thankfully this show brought out the crème rather than the riff raff, I must have been at the right show after all. Newly signed Welsh act The Automatic had just finished a tour with Hard-Fi which is probably a good starting point to explain influences and sound. This 4 piece have a set full of indie pop with strange lyrics about monsters and rats which slightly confuses me to be honest as a few of the lyrics in this set could be picked straight out of a Super Furry Animals record.
Humanzi are on the flip side tonight. After hearing their debut single explode across underground radio shows across the UK recently it was always going to be interesting to see if they could pull it off live but they did better than that, they killed it leaving the support bands in the dark. One of the support bands were heard saying “we should just give up now” and although I missed the first 2 bands you would have to get up pretty early in the morning to get one over on this set.
In direct contrast, Bullet Union are a tightly sprung coil of energy that instantly explodes across the stage on impact, taking their love of Dischord post-hardcore and San Diego based Hot Snakes/Drive Like Jehu guitar noise and moulding it into something that is very much their own. Tonight they are better than they have ever been. Maybe it’s the fact that they’ve already played one gig earlier tonight and they are still buzzing from the adrenalin but they play with such power and passion that thoughts like ‘this is the best band in London‘ keep flashing through your mind. Right now Bullet Union are on a mission to play as many gigs as possible so expect them to arrive in a town near you soon and don’t miss them.
It’s Halloween tonight and the ghouls are out in force to subject themselves to the horrifying noise that is Part Chimp. They arrive onstage in-front of a screen that pumps out blood and guts images from ‘The Evil Dead’ and the like and proceed to unleash tidal waves of crushing noise that have the less masochistic members of the audience cowering at the back with their fingers in their ears. However, it’s very easy to just focus on how loud Part Chimp are when actually, buried underneath the dense, thick slabs of sound are almost hidden, part whispered melodies and guitar harmonics that show depth and variety in the music that others might miss. Take forthcoming single ‘New Cross‘ for example; while the abrasive volume may stop it bothering the charts and you’re not likely to see Part Chimp on Top Of The Pops just yet, it does hold a killer melodic hook that works against the swirls of noise nicely. And that’s Part Chimp all over. Scratch beyond the surface and you’ll be surprised what you may find.
It’ll be a shock – and possibly even a crime – if Danish groove-masters Hatesphere aren’t headlining venues of this size themselves come October 2006. Despite the venue’s sound system having what can only be described as an epileptic fit on crack, the hard hitting quintet waste no time in inflicting whiplash upon the masses with their own unique brand of fist-pumping metal magic; with the likes of ‘The Sickness Within’ and tooth-shattering ‘Murderous Intent’ leaving no spine in tact.
Electric Ballroom. The venue verdict-always rad, but if I see anyone wearing stripes for a while I’m gonna hurl! What is it with Camden and friggin stripes. TopShop Capitalism has spread into punk-rock! When I 1st arrived there was a 1 piece giving it all he had on stage…so I hit the bar. I still have no idea who he was or if he was actually supposed to be there?!
“Aww, look how cute I am. Touch the Sov, touch the Sov!” shouted the diminutive MC as she stared at her run of looped videos filling up the giant screen behind her drummer. After tonight’s showing, it seems that everyone wants to get a bit of Sovereign, as she drew a crowd from all parts of the music spectrum – indie kids, grime kids, rockers and even a seventy year old granddad in shorts – but they were all united in amazement as Sov took them on a punk rock ride through old and new.
What a difference a year can make. A year ago The Magic Numbers were just entering the studio to record their debut album, enjoying an ever growing cult following playing low key shows. Fast forward 12 months and the band have played every major festival, supported Brian Wilson, played a sold out tour of the UK and had their eponymous debut album nominated for the Mercury Music Award. Not bad for two sets of siblings from West London. Fronted by Romeo Stoddard, flanked by his sister Michele on bass, Sean Gannon on drums and his sister Angela (melodica and vocals), the ‘Numbers have been described as the feel good band of the year, combining a laid back west coast Mamas and Papas vibe (by the by the Mamas and Papas were once known as ‘The Magic Circle), and beautifully penned songs of love, heartache and loss.