First, I apologize for this review coming so late. The California Bar Exam got in the way of my reviewing, but alas I have finally come up for air now that it’s done. So on to the review, after the disclaimer.
Lady Sovereign hit the stage first amid much buzz from being signed by Jay Z after hearing only one song in his Def Jam office. Perhaps Jigga should’ve listened more. While Lady Sov has an appeal in the UK in the “grime” genre, I’m not sure if her sound has translated into the Billboard single Jay Z envisioned. With her small stature, tough attitude, side ponytail, gold chains, and kooky facial expressions, Lady Sovereign is one to watch on stage. It’s just too bad that her live performance isn’t more polished and professional (“yet,” hopefully), especially since she needs to win over a US fanbase. Several times during her set she stopped mid song complaining of sound problems and apologized, saying she “wanted to give you a good show.” I’m of the belief “the show must go on” and all these delays only distracted the audience from her performance. Sovereign threw songs, like “Cha Ching” and “Random” off of her first Basement Jaxx produced EP, and also some new songs, “Blah, Blah” and “Love Me or Hate Me.” I guess the latter song is appropriate since now it’s up to the audience to see if her UK success will become US success.
The Streets, aka Mike Skinner, headlined the evening and proved why finally after 3 albums he is gaining momentum stateside. His brand of British 2-step/grime is unique in comparison to what is being played on hip-hop radio here. His sound combines a drum and bass feel (which now has evolved into the 2-step/grime genre) coupled with a distinctly British spoken word, almost poetic flow. His choruses are catchy and all of his songs have a story to tell, mostly about his upbringing and more recently on his latest album, “A Grand Don’t Come For Free,” about his new found fame and that comes with it.
When The Streets hit the stage the crowd went crazy. Lady who? His band was dressed in neon orange t-shirts with black palm tree motifs, which actually was quite appropriate for the California locale. Skinner took the stage looking like he was out of GQ (oh yeah, he DID have a spread in it recently) in jeans, t-shirt with a blazer over top, sneaks and, of course, shades. He was accompanied on stage by Leo the Lion, both playing off each other through the entire set which made for a surprisingly dynamic performance. Skinner light-heartedly sang the chorus of the Arctic Monkeys hit “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor” and referenced a few other new British artists, acknowledging the fact that his fans aren’t genre limited and neither is he.
Skinner traversed material from all three albums throughout his set, but focused primarily on his newer material. Towards the end of the set he introduced his drummer and said “This is Johnny Drum Machine, when he sits down, everyone jumps up.” And that the crowd did.
