Saturday 17 May 2014

FRONT ROW CENTRE - Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobious Pip - 'Angles'

You've listened to the songs...you loved the album...now you absolutely have to see them live...
FRONT ROW CENTRE


Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip - 'Angles' (2008)

Sub 89, Reading on April 27th 2014

For music lovers out there, the ultimate thing to do is to see your favourite artist or group live on stage. I go to a lot of concerts and for me the whole evening is an experience. Living just outside of London means it's a normally a dreaded, disgracefully long trek but it is such an amazing place, not only for music but for a night out so its worth it. Sprinkled with individual bars and restaurants hidden in every corner, it makes for a far more memorable experience! To save you hassling around, see my Gig Watch tips below! This is not a normal gig review, this is my experience.

Scroobius Pip needs little introduction on TuneDr as London Scouser is almost obsessive with his musical appreciation of this spoken word genius and featured him numerous times (have a look here). He does have me to thank though when I came home saying he'd love a song and played him The Beat That My Heart Skips years ago!

friends with fancy facial hair
I loved the venue, it's always a bonus when the bar is in the same room! There was plenty of space and even a couple of couches where we found our spot and I perched on the top of one giving me a pretty good view being as short as I am. The trouble was I was slightly distracted from the show at times with the love triangle unfolding before me. A girl with 2 guys on a night out that were obviously both after her hand. One was playing it low key trying to show he was enjoying the music whilst the other was quite the opposite, showing her more attention than the Scroob! That asides, I still couldn't escape the fact Dan Le Sac and Scroobius Pip had obvious chemistry in performance and in the banter between songs. Dan Le Sac revealed his knowledge of Reading having DJ'd there through the years making quips about the local bus service in his panda head hat. A truly funny guy.

totally sharp

The set was exactly what we wanted, brilliant performances of my favourites such as Sick Tonight, Stunner, Beat That My Heart Skipped and Thou Shalt Always Kill. I was waiting with baited breath for my ultimate though. Then it came, full of theatre and raw emotion which Scroobius Pip delivers with impeccable timing and feeling. Angles has always been my favourite and to hear it loud brought floods of goosebumps. It was an ingenious idea to have costume changes to impersonate the characters involved in the different points of view, proving that Scroobius Pip is just as good a showman as he is a poet. Especially with the final verse when the grieving brother stabs the security guard, wow, it knocked me for six. When I thought he could do no more to impress, the second encore and last song was Letter From God To Man, a clever and very relevant song in today's world. I will most certainly make sure I see his spoken word set at Latitude. Who better to read his poignant and genius lyric than himself, a true inspiration to enjoy modern poetry.

The video is from their gig in Amsterdam and is a fab example of what these two got up on stage. Just awesome!

Gig watch (everything you need to know!)
Venue: Sub 89, Reading
Recommended Pub: The Monk's Retreat, Wetherspoons (mainly for the colourful people watching!)
Recommended Restaurant: Jamie's Italian (but so many to choose from!)

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FRONT ROW CENTRE - Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobious Pip - 'Angles'
4/ 5
Oleh

4 comments

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17 May 2014 at 21:36

Great review Shell Hunter. I saw them in 2007 in a funny working man's club. They were tremendous then. I'd love to see them again now.

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Anonymous
18 May 2014 at 09:27

The bloke can rhyme but that effing beard!

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18 May 2014 at 17:10

Thanks TS and SB, they truly have chemistry but The Scroob's poetry is something else. There is a really good track off his latest album called Terminal which is a fantastic bit of spoken word with Dan le Sac's backing, gets me every time. He did it on the night too and it was show stopping to me. And the beard....yes, not a fan of facial hair!

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31 May 2014 at 11:26

Another great review...did any of these guys make it? Interesting song..my name is Old Pa!

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