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Bido Lito! April 2015 Reviews
The Sundowners (Keith Ainsworth / arkimages.co.k)
party off to a swinging start.
Brighton’s EUPHONY elicit a great reaction
from the growing crowd, many of whom are
familiar with the band’s songs. Their mix of dub
and calypso-infused dance tunes sees some
energetic dance moves breaking out as lights
begin to swirl around the vast hall, picking out
the delicate plasterwork of the barrel-vaulted
ceiling.
LONDON AFROBEAT COLLECTIVE take to the
stage and slip into a prolonged instrumental
groove that allows singer Funke Adeleke to
showcase her joyful footwork. The crowd are
straight on it too and LAC don’t let them go
for a second during a set of the tightest afro,
Latin, highlife and funk grooves north of the
22nd parallel. The ten-piece troupe build up
the sound until, with a chop of her hands,
Adeleke cuts off the top end, leaving the bass
and drums to hold a rock steady beat. Dancing
up to the mic, she adds a vocal injection that
moves things up a gear before the guitars
and brass kick back in, lifting the crowd into
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a frenzy.
After a short break, a scantily clad cowgirl
riding a pink flamingo enters stage left. The
crowd appear nonplussed at first but as she
slowly begins to disrobe, ably assisted by
the flamingo’s dextrous beak (think Rod Hull
meets Dita Von Teese), they soon warm to the
scenario. She is followed by belly, hula-hoop
and flamenco dancers who perform a risqué
mix of the classic and the comic. This is GYPSY
DISCO and the crowd lap it up.
Glasgow-based headliners MUNGO’S HI FI
make a fairly low-key entrance, in keeping with
their stated aim of “passion over presentation”,
checking out equipment and re-arranging
wires, before launching unannounced into a
heavyweight set. With Tommy Danger on the
decks and MC Kenny Knots on the mic, the
crowd are swiftly returned to serious party
mode. The bass is pounding out at a frequency
that could flatten a herd of cattle and Danger’s
mix of raga, dancehall and reggae lifts the
crowd to another level. Knots prowls the stage,
exhorting the crowd, handkerchief in hand,
mopping sweat from his brow like a Baptist
preacher during a fevered summer sermon. It’s
a good job that the Hall’s protective floor is well
sprung, it would otherwise have splintered
and the crowd would have been skanking
away on Milton’s exquisite tiles. Mungo end
their set with mixes of Max Romeo’s Chase The
Devil and Toots’ 54-46 Was My Number and the
crowd are screaming their approval, at times
a swirling sea of colour, at others frozen in a
stroboscopic slide show.
THE FIRE BENEATH THE SEA keep the rhythms
and beats alive for a crowd that looks like it
could party ‘til dawn. FBTS deliver, as always,
a high-energy, gleeful set, and the band look
like they want to play ‘til dawn, but, mid set
and to their obvious dismay, the houselights
suddenly illuminate St George’s Hall and,
despite the crowd baying for more, the sun
sets on another memorable Fiesta.
Glyn Akroyd
THE SUNDOWNERS
Sankofa – She Drew The Gun – Marvin Powell
EVOL @ The Kazimier
The superb line-up for this gig leads to much
counting of days before the appointed hour
arrives. Headliners THE SUNDOWNERS are part
of Merseyside music royalty – not only with Alfie
Skelly (Lead Guitar) and Fiona Skelly (Vocals/
Tambourine/Rhythm Guitar) continuing the
family tradition, but also Jim Sharrock (Drums),
channelling the drumming prowess of uncle
Chris (The Icicle Works, Robbie Williams, etc).
Completed by Niamh Rowe (Vocals/Rhythm
Guitar) and Tim Cunningham (Bass), the band
are back home after a short tour. Before they
appear, three other acts grace the stage.
MARVIN POWELL, a singer-songwriter with
a guitar and a double-bass player, has good
early support for his opening slot. Songs such
as Buried showcase his intricate guitar-playing
and delicate, folky vocals.