I’ve never really been to that many hip hop shows, in fact I don’t really attend many live shows at all outside of festivals. However when I saw Spank Rock was touring, there was no way I was going to miss out. I was delighted when I first heard the show had moved from the Gov to the much smaller and cosier Rocket, I figured a group like Spank Rock on a Wednesday night would blow the roof off the tiny confines of Rocket, and I was right.
After finally making my way up stairs around 10pm, I was just in time to catch the last part of Fire! Santa Rosa Fire! As to be expected on a Wednesday night, the club was half full; however this wasn’t helped by the masses outside smoking. However the few in the club were getting into the local 6-piece band’s performance, as was I, understanding now how these guys seem to be on every lineup I see these days.
Next after a short DJ interlude, it was time for Femme Fatales, another group who are new to me. After disappearing downstairs for a bit I returned to see the club a bit fuller and people a bit merrier as Femme Fatales had managed to pick the dancefloor up with the Presets/Cut Copy/Midnight Juggernauts inspired music. Personally I found them to sound way too much like a mash of the aforementioned groups, however as my friend told me I was being over critical, and people were having fun and that’s what’s important really.
By now it was well after 11 and getting towards the time Spank Rock were due to hit the stage. The club was getting fairly packed now, as people had decided inside was the place to be as opposed to hanging outside. However they seemed to be having some difficulties with setup or something, which meant come midnight they still hadn’t started. When they finally kicked off around 12:15, the mood picked up and looking around you might have forgotten it was a only a Wednesday night.
Spank Rock kicked off to a rousing response, belting through all the big tracks including Chilly Will, Rick Rubin, Backyard Betty and the JJJ favourite Bump, which drew the biggest response of the night by far. With many in attendance being blown away by MC Amanda Blank, and not just by her MC skills. I was very impressed by the way they worked the stage. The MC drew a massive response when he climbed down off the stage and began to work his way through the crowd. The vibe remained awesome throughout the set and towards the end it picked up more when the stage became covered in people dancing as the MCs searched for higher ground. The set was littered with samples of other well known songs including the incredibly overplayed Put Your Hands Up For Detroit, however the small section of that song they dropped did work in the context of the set, and the crowd loved it.
After what had seemed like a very fast hour it was over, I guess time does fly when you’re having fun.
Supermarket says...
Shr3dder's inllustrious return to the reviewers' front-line! Nice woik.