Saturday 27th March 2010 @ Academy, Bristol
With Support From: Sound Of Rum, B. Dolan

It’s a weird feeling in the Bristol Academy tonight: Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip are a truly unique act pondering that space in the netherworlds between underground and mainstream and having not been shoe-horned into a particular genre or subculture means that tonight’s crowd are an eclectic bunch of all ages, making for an interesting atmosphere.

The evening’s opening acts Sound Of Rum and B. Dolan are both adequate, one a hip-hop band with a unique female MC that seems so desperate to prove she’s not just a lady that at times comes off as being nothing but a stroppy teenager, and a giant bald man from America in overalls giving it his best east-coast rap. While both are entertaining, neither seems particularly original or inspiring.

Sac vs. Pip however, deliver in spades as the room that has been mostly half empty for tonight’s supports, now fills to its sold out capacity. Being their biggest gig outside of London, it’s pretty clear that Bristol has got a lot of love for this duo as have they for us and they repay us with a thought provoking, heart pounding, and dance till you drop set. It’s very rare you can apply these three descriptions to a single act but Le Sac and Pip warrant it.

From opening song, The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Scroobius ferociously launches into his unique style of wordsmanship with an eloquent anger. As the evening goes on, he tries to put his various life messages across and is neither too preachy or tongue-in-cheek, delivering with such sincerity that you actually want to listen to what he has to say.

As always, Le Sac provides the solid foundation for Pip’s rhymes and raps, jumping seamlessly from electro to hip-hop to even drum and bass at times, providing an upbeat energy that even this most eclectic of crowds can enjoy together. By the time they crack into hit Hip Hop Is Art, the night really starts to kick off and when we come to latest single, Get Better, it’s clear the two might be pushing in a more mainstream direction which no doubt will result in many more venues like this being sold out for them.

www.lesacvspip.co.uk

Adam Hooper
Photos by Laura Palmer