SUPPORTED BY FISHING, PURPLE SNEAKERS DJS
It’s not complicated Sydney, The Go! Team are supposed to be fun. They’re supposed to be loud, bouncy and busy in the spirit of one of those old-school Brooklyn block-parties. You, Sydney, are supposed to get involved. You don’t see footage of Grandmaster Flash playing to a crowd with one eye on the clock.
Even supports Fishing and the trusty Purple Sneakers DJs couldn’t seem to get anyone in the mood. Fishing got very active and happy-looking with their repetitive electronic video game sounds, and the Sneakers boys pulled out plenty of new upbeat danceable tracks, but still the crowd looked like they were waiting for a bus. A bus that was really, really late.
Exploding out to T.O.R.N.A.D.O, The Go! Team were all guns blazing. With plenty going on onstage, the team combined in a very punky and frenzied way. Grip Like A Vice continued the theme with loads of eighties double-dutch rapping and call and response. But where you’d expect a bellowing “yeeeeeahhh” from the crowd (after lead-singer Ninja’s “All the ladies...”), all she got back was a limp “meh”. It didn’t seem to slow her down though. Like an Energizer bunny in a crop-top, the diminutive Ninja led by example busting out some ridiculous moves and high-kicks. I think she even did a Russian Cossack dance. “But her vocals are a bit quiet”, murmured the grumpy crowd. So what? She’s rapping about rocking microphones and fly girls rocking the beat. It’s not Bob Dylan.
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The team was out to play songs from their new album, Rolling Blackouts, and plenty of them got a run here. Tunes like Secretary Song, and the mostly instrumental Yosemite Theme showcased the slightly softer Go! Team sound - giving the rest of the ensemble a chance to shine, and little Ninja a breather. But they were certainly at their Scott Pilgrim best knocking out livelier numbers like Ladyflash, Bottle Rocket and Huddle Formation. And regardless of the zombie crowd, some of us enjoyed ourselves. And some us even danced along. Yes, the sound wasn’t great and the set had its patchy moments. But with that much energy coming from Ninja and her pals on-stage, it’d have been rude not to get drunk and get involved. Guess this Tuesday-night crowd forgot their manners. Fools.
RICHARD SCOTT
