MUSIC

Anson Room, Bristol (Fri 3 Feb)

Having seen Roots Manuva take to the stage in riding boots, jodhpurs and a suede waistcoat at We The People festival last summer, much of the anticipation for this gig was to see what garms Rodney was going to rock this evening. And, of course, he doesn’t disappoint. Shuffling to the stage, top hatted, bow tied and trench-coated, he comes off as a kind of urban City banker surveying the crowd as if they were the London Stock Exchange, reeling off his stately rhymes as if casually offering sage investment advice in this, now wildly overstretched, metaphor. No matter, we’re here for the music. Since last summer, of course, we have had the release of his fifth ‘proper’ studio album (ignoring remix and dub albums) ‘4everevolution’, acclaimed by many as his best, and most complete, album to date. It’s hard to argue as he spends the first half of this gig reeling through a few album highlights such as the dutty ragga bounce of ‘Go Champ’ and the eminent head-noddery of the awesome ‘Here We Go Again’. The deep thump and Dre-esque percussion of ‘Crow Bars’ show Roots hasn’t lost any of his attitude either. A couple of sticking points, however: 1) because the production on the album is so crisp and beautifully produced, the looseness of the live band doesn’t really do it justice; and 2) the sound in the Anson Rooms is truly terrible (which, hopefully, the refurb will address), meaning a lot of the album’s nuances are lost in live translation.

Seeing Roots Manuva live, you invariably find yourself waiting for the drop of ‘Witness’ and that point comes at the halfway point, the band asking if we’re “ready for the time machine”, then, THAT drop. Huge and crowd-pleasing. From ‘Witness’ onwards, the second half plays like a greatest hits compilation, crammed with quality track after quality track from his bulging back cat. Personal favourite ‘Dreamy Days’, the classic ‘Again and Again’ and the ragtime bounce of ‘Too Cold’ get an airing. Fair play to the man for still giving the crowd what they want, and it’s during this second half that audience and band alike hit their stride, both seeming to bounce off each other, creating a huge party vibe for the final half-hour. Fantastic stuff and a perfect example of how live hip-hop should be done. It’s great to see an MC still at the top of his game a full 13 years since the release of ‘Brand New Second Hand’ and, if you haven’t seen him live yet, what are you waiting for? Go. Now. (Stuart Roberts)

Copyright Stuart Roberts 2012