Live: MTV2 Gonzo On Tour 2007 at Fibbers 20/10/07

The Zane Lowe-hosted Gonzo has in recent years brought to York then-Next-Big-Things the Klaxons, Long Blondes, The Go! Team and Hot Chip. This abundance of musical experimentation is of course held in York's premier concert venue – no, not Langwith – Fibbers. But will this year's hopefuls perform as expected?

Operator Please

The opening act are the young – very young – and quickly-rising newcomers Operator Please. Seeing their asymmetric haircuts, skinny jeans and ironic t-shirts, you might be tempted to bash your head repeatedly against a wall – but don't reach for the earplugs/shotgun just yet. Operator Please fit right into the recent rave-indie scene, comfortably borrowing The Gossip's loud-mouthed anthems and ambitiously attempting M.I.A.'s colourful and adrenaline-filled synthy rap, with surprisingly good results. The young Australians’ sudden fame is not altogether incidental: two of the members are classically trained and they do, in all honesty, make for a compelling live show. With jaunty keyboards, confident, powerful vocals and a token violin, they exude an electrifyingly primal, just-stuck-my-hand-in-a-socket kind of energy that not even their awkward-teenager appearance can dispel. The audience bobs away contentedly to 'Get What You Want,' which boasts a fine funky bass line, and to 'This is a Song About Ping Pong,' which does what it says on the cover, albeit in an insanely catchy way.

Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip

And then for something completely different. Roadies hand out fake beards (and obviously the ubiquitous glow sticks) in preparation for the only Gonzo appearance of the poet/DJ combination Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip. The duo are more in line with what Hunter S. Thompson might have had in mind when thinking 'gonzo' – you must remember their modern-day-Bible 'Thou Shalt Always Kill,' which thanks to YouTube and pearls of wisdom such as 'thou shalt not question Stephen Fry' earned them instant cult status. The quick-talking urban poet Scroobius Pip, sporting his trademark beard, baseball cap and skinny tie get-up, rhymes his way through the songs with breezy ferocity: along with Thom Yorke and Jarvis Cocker as a national consciousness-raiser, his razor-sharp political pinpricks would awaken the moral conscience of all but the most cynical listener. DJ Dan le Sac, meanwhile, frames the vocals with a throbbing backdrop of haunting electronica, using samples from Radiohead and Dizzee Rascal to incredible effect. Scroobius Pip punctuates the satire with well-chosen props, notably assuming different personas for the characters in ‘Angles.’ Angry, moving, intelligent, and at all times witty, they are exhilarating: the definite highlight of the evening.

Jack Peñate

The headliner is the up-and-coming Jack Peñate, a faintly ska-tinted singer-songwriter from London. Peñate is the nephew of Jo Whiley (nepotism, anyone?) and – oddly – there are claims that he was taught how to dance by Banksy. He breathlessly extols everything from York to MTV to being mugged (‘It’s not that bad – it’s better than being fed to lions – and you learn something from it’): his exceedingly super-happy persona, nevertheless, comes across as affected rather than endearing. As his songs are, basically, generic ballads with gratuitous funk interludes, his set is undoubtedly a comedown after the explosion that was Le Sac vs Pip. While Peñate’s music isn’t particularly distinguishable from the myriad indie bands of recent times, he is rather enjoyable live. His shambolic freshness is reminiscent of the early Libertines, the ska bits are fun, and his crazy dancing makes one wonder what other tricks Banksy has hidden up his multi-talented sleeve. Yet one can’t help thinking that his entrance to the music scene may be a couple of years too late.

Overall, it is an oddly-assorted but interesting mix. Among hundreds of balloons, fancy coloured lights and several cameras filming the show, Fibbers has never been so glittery. But, flog it as you might, the indie ‘revolution’ can’t go on forever. Roll on, politically aware novelty hip-hop and beards.

Add Comment

You must log in to submit a comment.