Upon his emergence, Dizzee Rascal developed a reputation as an artist who never fully captured the brilliance of his recorded works in the live setting: too throwaway and unfocused was the common consensus. Such criticism would appear to have been taken on board in the interim; or at least, there has been an unconscious commitment to improvement. Dizzee’s shows now equal and perhaps even surpass his recorded material: the occasionally impenetrable darkness of his studio output is swept aside in a blaze of brash wideboy cockiness and manic, chattering energy. He shares the limelight with a co-MC, pants hanging absurdly low, both positively giddy on their own brilliance. Always a sign of a good set when the only major complaint is its disappointing brevity; just a pity he wasn’t headlining.
Groove Armada’s live show is similar to Basement Jaxx’s, but without the limitless supply of terrific tunes. This statement may be viewed as damnation with faint praise, but any comparison with the ‘Jaxx’s breathless sets can be taken as complimentary, even with that one major caveat.
There is the same mash-up of styles: from house to hip-hop to ragga, with occasional splashings of meaty rock guitar. There is also a parallel in the range of vocalists employed; brassy soul divas and quickfire reggaeton-styled MC’s are present in equal measure.
Plus, even a Groove Armada sceptic would have to acknowledge that there is a similarly exuberant crowd reaction, although the various strands of sound are not consistently focused into genuinely brilliant songs, à la Felix and co.
Still, the group’s energy and rampant eclecticism prove to be more than enough to get them by, and they pull the peculiar (but effective) sequencing trick of reserving all their best tracks until the gig is nearing its conclusion.
‘I See You Baby’ is blazing and anthemic, while the supremely bouncy MC M.A.D imbues ‘Superstylin’’ with boundless energy. Their finest moment, however, remains the hazy, gorgeous ‘At The River’; still a thing of shimmering, brass-stroked beauty, after all this time.
A fine set then, but it was Dizzee’s star turn that will survive longer in the memory.