Chic with Nile Rodgers, 02 Academy, 25 March 2015

Imagine a nightclub. Imagine the best disco you have ever been to. Imagine a DJ playing every number one, top funky-disco-pop tune of the last 30 years… one after the other. Now imagine one man is responsible for every song being played, and imagine further, that he is playing all these great songs live.

Now imagine, not being able to dance, dance, dance: impossible.This is what it feels like to witness Chic playing live.

Of course, Chic originally grew and prospered under the New York disco scene in the late 1970’s and perfected their craft by testing their songs at the local clubs. The sound and songs that emerged were original, easily identifiable and distinctly danceable. With his finger on the pulse, Rodgers then became the producer to have, and he continued to write and produce hits, seemingly effortlessly.

It is easy to forget how much influence Nile Rodgers had during the 1970’s and 1980’s, but one look at the setlist below confirms his talent was not a flash in the pan. The fact also that the Chic sound kick started the beginnings of hip-hop and you appreciate that Rodgers’ closest peers are the likes of Chuck Berry and Little Richard: pioneers.

The night begins with a video of Chic’s new single “I’ll Be There” before an onslaught of every great dance track since 1978 performed by a nine piece band made up of two keyboard players, sax and trumpet, drums and bass, two lead singers and Niles on vocal and signature rhythm guitar. Nile’s instantly recognisable guitar sound is a comforting constant throughout the show. It is given a lot of space in the mix (more so than on record), and is the precise, beat perfect metronomic balance to the syncopated rhythms coming from every corner of the stage.

So much of Chic’s attraction is their solid four-four rhythm, augmented by use of off beat accents, with Nile’s glassy Fender Strat chugga-chugging throughout. He never puts a note or beat wrong and with stunning guitar solos only used sparingly, you get to appreciate how fine and sensitive a musician he really is.

Indeed, the band appears to be equally, supremely talented and picked out to compliment the only surviving member of the Chic group. Lead vocalists Folami and particularly Kimberly Davis, who handles the rawer parts, are stunning throughout, to a point that you forget the original legendary singers on the original releases. Moreover, if there ever was a man to fill the gaping hole left by original Chic partner and bass player Bernard Edwards, it is Jerry Barnes. Not only is he a phenomenal bass player, but his stage presence is immense; a warm and funny man with a great rapport with Nile. Bernard would definitely approve.

Having been given balcony tickets to do the review, I note throughout the show that Academy security rigidly enforce the ‘no standing in your seat’ rule (much to most people’s dissatisfaction). However, when Nile Rodgers tells everyone in the balcony to stand up and dance for ‘Le Freak’, who is going to argue? And we remain on our feet for the remainder of the show, so infectious are the grooves for the last two tracks. Seemingly by invitation, the stage is filled with members of the audience and they delight in dancing and taking selfies with Niles and the band during and after the performance of ‘Le Freak’. For the man who is responsible for the meteoric rise of other stars, Nile Rodgers is a man with his feet planted firmly and humbly on the ground.

Highlights for me are the jam while Nile tunes up half way through the set; the extended jam of finale ‘Good Times’; the poignant ‘Happy Man’; and the song that says more about Nile Rodgers than any other — ‘Lost In Music’. This is a man who when diagnosed with cancer was told to ‘get his things in order’; he took this to mean write and produce as much great music as humanly possible, work harder and beat the cancer, which thankfully he announces, he has.

The show ends how it began with the video of the new single; you can forgive Nile the indulgence of playing “I’ll Be There” three times (once live and twice by video), because it feels like this extravagance is less about promotion and more about his feelings of pride and love for his band’s newest arrival. It reminds me of when new parents bring their babies to the office… and like a newborn, the song appears at first a little ugly and shrivelled, but ultimately you can’t help loving it and wanting to protect it.

As the video ends, Nile is left front of stage on his own (the band having said their goodbyes at the end of ‘Good Times’). The venue lights go up and he continues to engage with the audience as if we are all friends. Nile is a rare star: one that enjoys every second of making music and above all respects the sensitivity of his audience. He is a human being of the highest order. He is also, without doubt still the epitome of cool.

When Chic come back (and he promises us they will), do not miss it.

Setlist:

1. Everybody Dance

2. Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)

3. I Want Your Love

4. I’m Coming Out

5. Upside Down

6. He’s the Greatest Dancer

7. We Are Family

8. Soup for One

9. Lady (Hear Me Tonight)

10. Like a Virgin

11. Lost in Music

12. Notorious

13. Spacer

14. Thinking of You

15. Why

16. Happy Man

17. My Feet Keep Dancing

18. I’ll Be There

19. Get Lucky

20. Chic Cheer

21. My Forbidden Lover

23. Le Freak

24. Good Times

 

Reviewer — Alan Neilson

Photographer — Katja Ogrin

About Author