After a career that spans 23 years (yipes!) numerous accolades, many albums, many experiments and more than one or two laughs the band that now consists of two Adams and two Mikes hasn't lost any of their skills. Ok they possibly can't skate as well as they used to...but I'll give them that (how nice of me...!)
The stage was empty apart from the raised box of Mixmaster Mikes decks and had two massive screens suspended above it (which later moved all over the place). Totally empty....hmmmmm what were they up to, this is the sparsest set I have seen and there is a strange curved thingy at the front of the stage?
The screen crackled into life and a security guard "woke" Mixmaster Mike up and escorted him from his bunk in the bus to stage live on the TV link up, he then proceeded to warm the crowd for about 15 minutes with a scratch set. Then on came the boys dressed in yellow and green tracksuits and away we went.
This gig had so many facets to it I am gonna be struggling to fit everything in. They changed the scene four or five times and costume changed about the same amount. They worked every inch of the stage and managed to get into the mixing desk and perform in the middle of the arena. They had a stage on wheels decorated like the best wedding band you could imagine with multiple hanging lanterns that they wheeled around.
All this was happening whilst they teased the crowd with beats and rhymes. "Brass Monkey", "Root Down", "Remote Control", "Body Movin", "Ch-Check it Out" any loads more were all fitted into the set with Mixmaster Mike changing the beats from "Pass the Dutch" to "DMX" and back to the originals. It was all seamless and more than everything I could say about the gig, at last, a band that enjoys themselves on stage. They love it, well; either that or they are good actors too.
I checked the crowd out loads and they didn't stop moving, everyone was either head rockin' like demented pigeons or out and out funkin. When the band wheeled the mini lounge out for the first time they played a jazz funk set with Money Mark on Organ and Alfredo Oritz on Bongos and even then the crowd changed rhythm and slowed it down for the bongo solo.
We were all betting on the encore and we knew it would be "Intergalactic" and "Sabotage" but were not really prepared for the whole crowd standing and dancing to the live (by that I mean guitars, bass, bongos, Hammond organ, drums and DJ) version that was astoundingly well performed. The crowd gave some love back after that one.
Oh, and as for that weird curved thing at the front of the stage...it was a camera! So when they jumped and posed in front of it, it took a 3d image which they played on the moving screens. I told you they had everything. What? You didn't believe me?
[b]Words By:[/b] Troy Rice
[b]Photography:[/b] Troy Rice
