Apparently, N.E.R.D. stands for No-one Ever Really Dies. What it should stand for is No-One Really Thought About The Sound Tonight. It’s no small irony that two of the world’s most shit-hot producers can barely sort a decent sound engineer for tonight’s gig. It was always going to be interesting to see how N.E.R.D.’s hyper-produced work would transfer to the live setting, but the intricacies, the glorious production loops, glitches, nooks and crannies of their sound have lost their immediacy and verve through the prehistoric-sounding sound system and crowd hysteria.
Yet the crowd in question – a cross-pollination of so solid Sarf Londoners, ironic haircuts and pop illuminati – could give less of a fuck about the sound as rumours that the boys have cajoled Justin Timberlake into making a post-Brit appearance prove gloriously fruitful. Trousersnake’s superstar vibe certainly gives Pharrell’s coolly animalistic persona a run for its money – between the pair of them, there ain’t a dry seat in the house.
Thankfully, it’s a gig of two halves, and come the end of the show, the cloudy sound has cleared up and the crowd are subjected to an assault of stellar singles including ‘Lapdance’ and ‘Rockstar’ back to back…even Justin gets a sneaky version of ‘Senorita’ in after providing vocals on ‘Ron To The Sun’ and ‘Provider’. While Oasis and Busted watch from the wings, a melee of collaborators including Dizzee Rascal, Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am and..er Naomi Campbell take to the stage to bring a little bit of Brit heaven to the evening.
In all, the music is a mealy and mouthwatering melting pot of soundscapes, proving that even with the stellar stage lineup, N.E.R.D. are worth more than just the sum of their erstwhile pop protégées.
tanya sweeney