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It's getting late, the pubs have begun to kick out and there's something
odd about wading through Kings Cross at midnight to get to a gig. With Goldie Lookin' Chain
not on stage till 2am I could have been forgiven for thinking I'd got the
thin end of the Carling Live 24 wedge. However, straight after setting foot
in Canvas (nee Bagleys) I knew I was in store for a good night.
After a fairly low-key knob twiddling support act, the Welsh collective
finally hit the stage at 2am amid mounting excitement. Everyone was there for a good time and we weren't disappointed. Within
seconds of arriving on stage Adam Hussein promised us that they were ready
to get "Club 18-30" on our asses - which they certainly did.
Recently, it's been a roller coaster of a time for the GLC crew but
Maggot's flirtation with celebrity doesn't appear to have changed the band
in any way. The fans are still out in force and the poison chalice of a
Davina McCall interview doesn't seem to have had any effect on their
credibility. And there'd be no journalists from
Hello magazine in the crowd - they'd be off to see The Ordinary Boys the next day.
It's difficult to pigeon hole GLC. Are they an individual hip-hop voice
or just an out of control novelty act? Who cares when they're so damn
entertaining. The late hour didn't seem to have hampered the crew. We
were treated to a hour of frenetic bouncing up and down: Put your hands over
your ears and it would almost have been like watching an ASBO themed
exercise video. And it
takes a special kind of performance the get a whole crowd chanting "your
mother's got a penis" at 3am. Their most popular hits, along with material from their last album, were well received by the Carling fuelled crowd.
For a band currently homeless after being dumped by their label it seemed
like business as usual. The same playful attitude is displayed and, hopefully,
a more favourable record deal is waiting in the wings. They may have their
critics, but it'd be a shame if Goldie Lookin' Chain drop off the radar.
Clearly intended to lure in the after hours clubbing crowd, this leg of Carling Live 24 also included rooms devoted to indie disco and
broken beats. But the real discovery of the night was Steve Lamacq's Punk
Rock Karaoke where punters from the crowd were encouraged to join a live
band for a selection of classics - I arrived in the room to see one guy
belting out Ace of Spaces as if his life depended on it and I was hooked for
most of the night. It's unlikely to produce any stars of tomorrow but it's a
blindingly simple idea which makes stupendous entertainment. It's well worth
checking out their residency at the Garage if you can.
And before I knew it the night had finished and it was back to Kings
Cross for "the night bus challenge". To those who made it to breakfast at
The Proud Gallery - I salute you.
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