Live Review: Gold Panda, Slow Blow, Black Vanilla

Black Vanilla are the group you want playing at every house party from now 'til infinity. Massive energy doesn't even begin to describe their zeal or commitment to winning over an audience with electronic beats that grew from r'n'b flecks into acid house jams. Vocalists Marcus Whale and Guerre both have pure, soulful voices that give further depth to their ridiculously catchy songs. Not to mention Whale's unparalleled dancing skills paint him in equal measure as showman and fan of his own music. They worked hard to coerce the thin crowd into embracing the atmosphere, and judging by the fuller dancefloor and moving bodies, they undoubtedly succeeded.
Slow Blow kept the ambience with unsurprising electronica, but the moment the totally unassuming Gold Panda aka Derwin Schlecker walked out, the room's atmosphere shifted to tense anticipation. Schlecker is a master composer, producer and performer, and all those talents factor into his live performance. He manipulated the energy in the room with a dexterity that comes with experience and having a back catalogue of excellent songs, essentially working into long highs, sustained by syncopated beats. The projections washing over him and onto the backdrop were perfectly timed to the music, shapeshifting visuals of plants turning into buildings, then morphing into arrays of light and colour. It's a finely tuned set and undeniably apparent that Schlecker knows exactly what he's doing, reworking his released material live to add new touches. Though there was a hefty dose of new songs in there, the biggest audience reactions were saved for easily recognisable bells and beats from Lucky Shiner. The moment he began playing a deconstructed version of You, the excitement in the room skyrocketed, waiting for that inevitable bass drop to pull into head-nodding enthusiasm. The all too brief encore saw him return for a drum 'n' bass compacted tune, bowing out and leaving pounding ears and heartbeats in his wake.