| I used to think that being
stuck at a garage/hip hop concert would feel like being stuck between my usual
comforting rock and a hard (core) place (ho ho). But dodgy metaphors aside, I’m
not often right, and I was wrong again. Zane Lowe’s “equal rights in music” motto
has not only taken him across the country but across polar opposites of music
– from the baggy bottomed quick-tongued tirade of beats that is Dizzee Rascal,
to the skinny-legged whiteboy rock of Razorlight. Amazingly, it works, which probably
says something about the current diversity of the British music scene and the
ever-increasing enlightenment of music fans. So let’s experiment…
Fix
up, look sharp
Stick a celebrity DJ and an ‘On Air’ sign in front
of a Roadmender crowd and it’s amazing what it does for the atmosphere – Zane
Lowe is getting his rocks off to some seriously dirty beats mixed in with Franz
Ferdinand and Greenday for the less urban-initiated, and the crowd are looking
sharp.
Urban music and its stars (like the irascible Dizzee or common
lad Mike Skinner, who made a surprise appearance on decks tonight) are a community
– instead of a wall of guitars and amps it’s just you, the guy in the hoodie and
his voice. Confrontational to the ill-informed, it’s actually an exhilarating
experience. Dizzee crouches at the back of the stage for first track ‘Sittin’
Here’ and you know straight away he was the smart kid teachers labelled stupid.
He articulates his experiences as an East end teenager with the fierce yet frank
good humour of someone who knows he deserves better. And the minor interruption
of a fire evacuation (false alarm, thank goodness) isn’t enough to stop him –
Dizzee’s back on for a blistering final five songs, including the huge hit ‘Fix
Up, Look Sharp’ and current single ‘Dream’ with it’s sneaky ‘Happy Talk’ sample,
which sums up the night. Happy, happy, happy, happy talk – from people who walk
the walk. Genius. Relevant sites:
http://www.dizzeerascal.co.uk
Natasha House for Crud Magazine 2004©
October - December 2004- News Archive | |
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