Live Review: Peking Duk, LDRU, Benson, Yeo

First cab off the rank Yeo, who is clearly excited to start the night off right, particularly nails his closing song Kobe. Up next is a short set from Benson. He drops the likes of Ginuwine’s Pony and well as his latest single Hot Mess. LDRU keeps us in party mode as he opens with his writhing remix of Broods’ Bridges, which is a clear favourite among the crowd.

Everyone is now well and truly ready for Peking Duk. This is their fourth and final show at Corner Hotel for their Peace Love And Sweatiness tour, and they’re going to bust this place wide open before they leave. A video message introduces the show, and asks: “Youse fucking cunts ready???” This introduction sets the tone for the whole evening; leave your worries, cares, inhibitions and pretensions at the door – it’s time to get loose! As in shirts-off, vodka-sculling, shoulder-riding, EDM-thrashing levels of loose.

Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles burst out of the gate with The Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop and hop between genres throughout the night. We’re getting everything from Pharoahe Monch, The Beatles, RL Grimes, DJ Mehdi – even The Lion Sleeps Tonight makes an appearance. Dropping DJ Snake & Lil Jon’s Turn Down For What is a particularly great moment; if ever there was a song to encapsulate these boys and their hard-partying ways, this is it. We notice a couple of sneaky mash-ups throughout the set, and they’re pretty fantastic. Michael Jackson’s I Want You Back work beautifully with Passion Pit’s Sleepyhead, and Biggie Smalls rapping over Party In The USA by Miley Cyrus is also pretty fun – how could it not be? It’s not all bangers and remixes, though. Then Yeo and Benson come back and join Peking Duk for a live vocal set. Ben Woolner from Safia also comes on to perform his band’s new single and his soulful vocals add depth to the Peking Duk beats.

The set closer is (of course) High; now is the time for confetti canons to explode with half the audience climbing up on the shoulders of a friend/boyfriend/stranger. Our only criticism of the night would have to be that Hyde and Styles constantly interrupt the music for random shout-outs. There are only so many times we can be asked if we’re ready to party or be told to jump. But this slight annoyance pales in comparison to the level of high-energy fun we’ve had tonight.