Last night was the third time I have been to see having got tickets to Milton Keynes and Shepherds Bush previously. I was looking forward to seeing what the gig would be like without the main man. I was assuring my mates that "they'll give good value tonight without Em" "hopefully they'll do a good show and come out of the 'shade' of Shady". They didn't really.
However first up was the support in the shape of Lady Sovereign.
Lady Sov has got bundles of energy and I arrived as she was working hard to get the crowd up for it urging them to make some noise before bursting into one of the strongest tunes in her set Sshh. Lady Sov then continued to dish out her beats at a frenetic pace and although I couldn't help tap my feet I was slowly being lost as one song merged into the next. The only other thing that really stood out was "blah, blah, blah, rare, rare, rah". Lady S had though obviously set some good foundations for the main attraction and this was appreciated and mentioned early doors by Proof.
hit the stage at quarter to ten and one by one they made their way to the arena. As always the biggest cheer was saved for Bizarre - who looked strangely coordinated despite the fluorescent pink, slightly fluffy pimp coat he wore oh so well. The fellas then rattled through tune after tune which brings me to my biggest bitch of the evening. Why do most rap acts not have an idea of how to put a show on?
Most of the crowd had by the sounds of things bought World and probably Devils Night so they all had a good idea of what 40 Oz, Fight Music and World should sound like. My point is that for just under £20, and on a Monday we as an audience are looking for more than a recital of the albums most of us have paid twelve quid for already. Personally I'd like to see the members of the band battle each other, do some a cappella, free style even - basically change it up a bit so that everyone knows they are at a
show.
This didn't really seem to affect the majority of the crowd though which was extremely friendly (and probably a bit pissed), so much so that when the boys on stage screamed "I'm Gonna Get My Gun" no one else did because quite frankly no one owned one. Their hits though did go down a storm. Purple Pills, My Band and $$$$ On You all got the crowd raving hard.
I think by the end of the set were a bit disillusioned with the crowd and were definitely reluctant to come out for the encore but maybe that's their own fault.
All in all 3/5 - just above average.
Words By: PM
Gig: @ Brixton Academy on 20th September 2004
