Goldie Lookin Chain + Trip @ Birmingham Academy 2 – 17th March 2009
Wales has long been associated with producing the cream of the hip-hop elite. Snoop, Fiddy, Dre… well, maybe not. But what it has produced is Goldie Lookin Chain and tonight they’ve descended upon Birmingham’s Academy 2 ahead of releasing their charmingly-titled ASBO 4 LIFE album to make some noise.
By the time support act Trip entered the stage the room was filling to a very respectable capacity, almost certainly boosted by St Patrick’s Day revellers judging by the novelty hats and plastic cups of Guinness floating around the crowd. But as soon as I saw main man Trip – aka Alex Child – I immediately felt there was a divide between band and front man. He looked a bit like Macaulay Culkin if he worked as a part-time assistant at a library, while his band looked more like students that had won a competition to back him. As their first tune ‘Apple Cheeks’ kicked in my initial feelings were confirmed.
Trip combine rip-off Mike Skinner vocals over a rock backing, but the rock and rhymes combo just doesn’t work in this case, especially with the Academy’s now-legendary white noise crackle. I think what made matters worse for Trip was the complete lack of irony that has so-far propelled Goldie Lookin Chain. I mean, rhyming “Margherita” with “pizza” is a mistake at the best of times, but combined with crunching guitars, ‘catchy’ choruses and a song about River Phoenix dying, Trip miss the mark in a big way. If the band was built around Trip’s lyrical wit and delivery, I really don’t know why. There are much better people doing similar things.
But the crowd weren’t here for Trip, they were here for Newport’s finest Valleys ganstas, Goldie Lookin Chain. Bouncing onto the stage like it was playtime at the detention centre, bedecked in leisurewear and a subdued amount of bling considering previous efforts, the GLC started up ‘Half Man Half Machine’. The combo of funny, inventive lyrics, Welsh accents and a troupe of grown men jumping around in tracksuits shouldn’t work, but they bring a party atmosphere and you can’t help but smile.
Where Trip fell down, GLC stood strong, coming across as half comedy act, half band to keep the audience entertained throughout what, without the mountains of irony, would have been some pretty shoddy hip-hop karaoke. Twisted love song ‘You Knows I Love You’ explained how to leave your girlfriend for her sister or best friend without offending her, while ‘Space Police’ told the story of Tony and his methods of future law enforcement. Getting the audience to fill in the chorus for new single ‘By Any Means Necessary’ was also a smart move.
‘Charmschool’ revived the ghost of Grange Hill with its sample of the theme tune and biggest hit ‘Guns Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do’ pleased the increasingly inebriated audience. But aside from bursts of banter between tracks, this appeared to be the peak of GLC’s powers.
Variation obviously doesn’t translate well into Welsh, as towards the end of the set the pre-recorded beats and waning lyrical wit began to wear a bit thin. Many of the jokes were lost in the mix and only so many drum n bass, rave or old school hip-hop parodies can keep up the interest. Euro-trance departure ‘Welcome to Germany’ was a novelty of a novelty which couldn’t be saved by some impromptu body-popping, and ‘New Day’ featuring a church organ intro and the GLC ‘male voice choir’ sounded suspiciously ‘pumped-in’.
Only the simplistic, but no less satisfying, ‘Your Missus is a Nutter’ and ‘Your Mother’s Got a Penis’ provided a last few chuckles and a chance to get up and jump before GLC finished in time for everyone to get home to meet their ASBO curfews.
Left with the music alone, GLC wouldn’t be much of a proposition. But their on-stage personas and banter between tracks kept everyone pumped and ready to party.
Words: Ian Ravenscroft
Photos: Sophie Stern