Scroobius Pip, live at Whelan's
Going solo - the Essex man more than holds his own.
Maeve Heslin, 17 Nov 2011
It's hard to ignore the fact that not 24 hours ago, the person you're reviewing spat out the lyrics to a song called 'Death Of The Journalist'. Rather, we'll nervously carry on typing, and pretend that London hip hop/spoken-word artist Scroobius Pip considers us an exception to the rule!
Emerging on stage after a stellar warm-up job by Irish beatbox artist White Noise, Pip - who rose to fame as one half of dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip - is showcasing his latest solo offering Distraction Pieces. This is no real surprise, as the Essex man started off solo on the UK spoken-word circuit some years back, and has charisma pretty much oozing from his pores.
Distraction Pieces is a rockier, more intense state of affairs than Pip's albums with dan le sac – Angles (2008) and 2010's The Logic Of Chance – and fittingly, the singer is accompanied by a drummer and guitarist tonight, who whip this Dublin crowd into a moshtastic frenzy.
He opens up with 'Introdiction', a dark commentary on hypocrisy and the arbitrary nature of language. As always, his thoughtful rhetoric is wonderfully juxtaposed with a constant witty banter - meaning that within mere moments, this crowd is but putty in his hands. Pip carries on with album tracks 'Try Dying', 'Domestic Silence' and the aforementioned 'Death Of The Journalist', which claims journalistic integrity is the price of social media's advances. 'Soldier Boy (Kill Em)' and 'Broken Promise' are up next, before a seated performance of oldie '1,000 words', promptly followed by all-out rockfest 'Let 'Em Come'.
Finishing up with 'The Struggle', Pip gives a one-song encore ('The Astronaut') before launching himself into the crowd for a quick and impromptu surf.
A true pro if ever there was one.
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