Gym Class Heroes @ HMV Instiitute, 29th September 2011
Gym Class Heroes were late for the gig and therefore came all the way from New York to perform for less than an hour to a busy HMV institute (busy not sold out) leaving the audience with the ska support band. This may seem problematic but the ska band were great. The multi talented lead singer kept bringing out instruments she could play and as Gym Class Heroes were no where to be seen the group just kept on going in their Ron Burgundy jazz flute style! Gym class heroes didn’t really do anything on stage but make “stereohearts” signs with their hands and promote their new “highly anticipated” album. Despite being late the band didn’t do an encore and finished early, way to go Travie!
Travie Mccoy is a great songwriter and certainly has a loyal fan base but when you see him perform songs without the band like “Billionaire” on his solo album “Lazarus” you start to go off him “as his morals seem to go off on a tangent and out the window. With the essence of GCH why would you go and collaborate with teen icon Bruno Mars, when before it was “four dudes sitting in a room, vibing off each other and making organic, dark metal.”
Nevertheless, I love Gym Class Heroes and with their songs based on 80’s R&B acts and funk bands such as The Red Hot Chilli Peppers you never tire of listening to them. The group have lots of variation in their songs from SuperTramp cover “Breakfast in America” to “Cookie Jar” and this is why I like them so much. Even now from forming in 1997 they can come back and make hit “Stereohearts” with Maroon 5’s Adam Levine on their new album “The Papercut Chronicles II.”
The group hit the big time by sampling “Breakfast In America” and it seems like sampling is now a major part of their act, as it gives the group a different vibe. Sampling has grew from when the band formed and I believe it makes any old hip-hop group sound better than they actually are. But no so for Gym Class Heroes sampling is what they do and what they do best, after all Travie’s “hearts a stereo”.
The band performed well and obviously loves playing in “a different city every night.” I look forward to their return and their second album in November. Just next time don’t miss your flight as there’s only so much support music you can take.
Review – John Kirby
Photo – Jordan Hughes