Major Lazer brings dancehall to the Shepherd's Bush Empire
I'm a fan of Major Lazer, from the original Pon de Floor to Beyonce's sample of it in Run The World (Girls). The album Guns Don't Kill People... Lazers Do, released in 2009 was a triumph for modern dancehall fused with electro dance.
When I heard that the Major, a collaborative music project between super producers/DJs Diplo and Switch, was playing in London, I jumped at the chance to go.
The show kicked off with a set from Toddla T, homegrown talent mixing hiphop, dancehall and bit of UK garage thrown in for good measure. The boy is good, very good.
When I heard that the Major, a collaborative music project between super producers/DJs Diplo and Switch, was playing in London, I jumped at the chance to go.
The show kicked off with a set from Toddla T, homegrown talent mixing hiphop, dancehall and bit of UK garage thrown in for good measure. The boy is good, very good.
He started his set, easing the audience with more mellow RnB with the MC talents of Shola Ama's brother, TT clearly likes to keep it in the family. The whole time, you knew he was building up to something spectacular and he delivered; as the second MC of the evening came out to speed MC to dancehall classics and drum 'n' bass. As the crowd swelled, we got a surprise set from Shola Ama herself, as she came out to sing her back catalouge which included anthems You Might Need Somebody, Imagine and naturally Take It Back, a Toddla T track that she provided the vocals for.
We came, we saw and once again we were conquered. I like to think of TT as the Quentin Tarantino of music, he's clearly obsessed with it and pulls influences from every corner of music; resurrecting yesteryear's starlets from near obscurity and refresh them for a newer audience. I'm sure 90% of the crowd had no idea who Shola Ama was before she worked with TT.
With the venue filled to bursting, Major Lazer and the band of MCs and dancers came onto the stage with a rush of energy normally obtained from class A's, throwing various inflatables, confetti and even themselves into the audience. The lead vocalist must've poured about six bottles of champagne (or I assume, Asti Spumante) into the crowd.
The very dance heavy set was an eruption of pure hedonism, for a couple of hours, we were in a Sambadrome, Rio. The dancehall part of the set was too limited for my liking. Opening with Pon de Dancefloor the crowd went wild. The set then went on to include classics like Murder She Wrote, Heads High and Who Am I, this is what I came for.
We were also treated to a new track, which truly whetted my appetite for the new album. Staying true to dancehall form and apparently auditioning ladies to appear in the new video. A hoard of Hollyoaks wannabes ran towards the stage to 'grind' and get their 15 minutes of fame, apart from they looked like white girls trying to dance to black music. Too ugly to be on TV, too stupid to be a stripper*.
The set then went onto drum 'n' bass with 'Major Lazer' running onto the balconies, mixing with the crowd. He was milking this for everything it was worth and he loved it. Fortunately for those of us who are not as young as we used to be and out of DnB practice, this provided a welcome respite as we followed him around the auditorium, wondering where he was going to appear next.
Now, it was the guys turn to go into the limelight as a man was asked to come onto the stage. In rare non-misogynistic showmanship, the unsuspecting audience member was promptly laid on the floor while two female dancers were left to have their wicked way with him. They stripped him from the waist down (leaving the pants on) and danced erotically in a West Indian way, unlike the Amsterdam shows where this is the norm, this was funny and empowering, not seedy or embarrassing.
This had to be one of the best gigs I've been to. My favourite gigs have always been the ones where you watch musicians in awe, the ones that transport you to a higher plane and the ones that just simply entertain; this falls into the latter.
I would also like to extend an apology (again) to the night's promoter who was on the wrong end of my wrath after he pushed me out of the way. I assumed he was just a rude punter trying to get a better glimpse of 'Major', but he was just doing in his job, keeping an eye on his act. To him I apologise, to the rest of you, consider this a warning.
* (C) ShadowFriend
First published 19/04/2012
We came, we saw and once again we were conquered. I like to think of TT as the Quentin Tarantino of music, he's clearly obsessed with it and pulls influences from every corner of music; resurrecting yesteryear's starlets from near obscurity and refresh them for a newer audience. I'm sure 90% of the crowd had no idea who Shola Ama was before she worked with TT.
With the venue filled to bursting, Major Lazer and the band of MCs and dancers came onto the stage with a rush of energy normally obtained from class A's, throwing various inflatables, confetti and even themselves into the audience. The lead vocalist must've poured about six bottles of champagne (or I assume, Asti Spumante) into the crowd.
The very dance heavy set was an eruption of pure hedonism, for a couple of hours, we were in a Sambadrome, Rio. The dancehall part of the set was too limited for my liking. Opening with Pon de Dancefloor the crowd went wild. The set then went on to include classics like Murder She Wrote, Heads High and Who Am I, this is what I came for.
We were also treated to a new track, which truly whetted my appetite for the new album. Staying true to dancehall form and apparently auditioning ladies to appear in the new video. A hoard of Hollyoaks wannabes ran towards the stage to 'grind' and get their 15 minutes of fame, apart from they looked like white girls trying to dance to black music. Too ugly to be on TV, too stupid to be a stripper*.
The set then went onto drum 'n' bass with 'Major Lazer' running onto the balconies, mixing with the crowd. He was milking this for everything it was worth and he loved it. Fortunately for those of us who are not as young as we used to be and out of DnB practice, this provided a welcome respite as we followed him around the auditorium, wondering where he was going to appear next.
Now, it was the guys turn to go into the limelight as a man was asked to come onto the stage. In rare non-misogynistic showmanship, the unsuspecting audience member was promptly laid on the floor while two female dancers were left to have their wicked way with him. They stripped him from the waist down (leaving the pants on) and danced erotically in a West Indian way, unlike the Amsterdam shows where this is the norm, this was funny and empowering, not seedy or embarrassing.
This had to be one of the best gigs I've been to. My favourite gigs have always been the ones where you watch musicians in awe, the ones that transport you to a higher plane and the ones that just simply entertain; this falls into the latter.
I would also like to extend an apology (again) to the night's promoter who was on the wrong end of my wrath after he pushed me out of the way. I assumed he was just a rude punter trying to get a better glimpse of 'Major', but he was just doing in his job, keeping an eye on his act. To him I apologise, to the rest of you, consider this a warning.
* (C) ShadowFriend
First published 19/04/2012
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