Spooks concert review

By Angharad Williams

Jazz Cafe, London - 21st August 2003

No strangers to the UK, Spooks previously performed at the Jazz Cafe as well as festivals across the country around three years ago. The East coast collective known for hits such as 'Karma Hotel' and 'Things I’ve seen’ taken from their 2000 debut album S.I.O.S.O.S, were back in Camden's, Jazz Cafe, to promote the release of their new album, entitled, ‘Faster Than You Know’.

When we arrived at around 9:30pm, a predominantly white crowd had already gathered and awaited the appearance of Mr. Booka-T, Hypno, Joe Davis and female member, Ming-Xia. Blasting onto stage with a Spooks rendition of ‘Gimmie the light’ and shouts of “We came all the way to England and we gotta get this s**t on” they launched straight into their set. Breaking into Lumidee's track, 'Never Leave you (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh), they got the crowd hyped, saying, “If you want Spooks to stay we’ll never leave”. Adding the backing track was DJ Dice who was credible enough on the decks, but no fires were being put out after his scratching. The spits were controlled but free flowing, while the excellent sound system made them clearly understandable. As one MC’d the others stood to the side, but never stood still and encouraged the audience to sing along by offering out the mic throughout the show. Ming-Xia’s soulful voice really added depths to songs especially their hits ‘Karma Hotel’ and ‘Things I’ve Seen’ the words of which I still remember from ‘The Chart Show’ days. The tune ‘Dead Beat’ taken from the new album, is as Booka-T explained about Fathers who don’t take care of their children. They broke into a drum & bass style beat during the song, which interestingly fused with their hip hop spits and introduced a fresh sound to their usual MCing and vocals.

There certainly was a party happening on stage and the crowd absorbed the vibes – most bouncing around by the end of the night. My main issue with the evening was the number of samples used. Using instrumentals of songs by NAS, Aaliyah, Sean Paul, Kelis, Sugar Hill Gang and Lisa Stansfield to name a few, made it difficult at times to know which songs were actually theirs. At times, I found myself lost, wondering what was actually going to be on their album. On the other hand the use of familiar tunes, seemed to boost the vibe of the crowd. Is this cheating? Questionable.

The crowd were cheering for more by the end of the set and that was delivered in the form of ‘Things I’ve seen’ – a perfect wind-down from the lively performance. People waved their hands on a feel good vibe - the cheer at the end of the night was a testament as to how much people enjoyed the show. When Spooks left the stage people continued dancing on a high. The friendly crowd really came to enjoy the show and have fun and it must be said, that the Spooks certainly delivered.

Return To Concert Review Archive

US Music | Clubs | Front Page | UK Music | Events