The Spooks/Delinquent Habits

Where it’s at, as one small American once said, is two turntables and a microphone. California’s Delinquent Habits stick to the programme rigidly but turn in an enjoyable set of old skool hip-hop that fills the early evening void nicely, even if they do take their lives in their hands by thanking us all in Dublin, England. Those delinquent habits obviously included not paying attention in geography class.

As for the Spooks, where it’s at is two turntables, a six-piece band and five microphones. Subscribing to the ‘more is more’ school of live hip-hop, it’s an approach that ultimately proves to be their potential downfall. We could be charitable and blame it on the awful sound, but for the majority of the evening the musical end of things is a muddy mess, lacking the definition, character and – most vitally – groove of ‘S.I.O.S.O.S.’.

The five Spooks themselves, however, are a hugely entertaining proposition – prowling the stage, swapping lines and mics, dancing like a hip hop Temptations and working the audience into a veritable frenzy. Pick of the bunch is vocalist Irina Perez, combining the sweetest of voices with an engaging stage persona. Her affable nature only drops once, when the boy Spooks (one of whom is rather bizarrely sporting an Arsenal top) pull some girls out of the audience to manhandle during Perez’s spine tingling ‘Sweet Revenge’. The party moves up a gear when the band down instruments and join the rappers up front for a backing track assisted air puncher, for once simplicity winning the day. They climax with an epic version of ‘Things I’ve Seen’, before spoiling it by letting the band run through solo after endless solo. Their records may be more than worthy of all the platitudes, but live the Spooks need something of a rethink.