*IndigO2, London*
The south London UK garage collective's reunion party turned out to be a celebratory farewell, too
The comeback cash barrel isn't as bottomless as some reunion bands think. A decade after the commercial failure of their second album, 2nd Verse, So Solid Crew staged a sold-out IndigO2 show in March, a bold return for the south London UK garage collective – up to 30 MCs, DJs, producers, pirate-radio stars and the odd stage-school kid – who gang-rushed pop culture in 2001 with the irrepressible 21 Seconds. It pumped the collective confidence of these grime pioneers and gang culture scapegoats who, once they'd realised that any 30-way money split wasn't going to make anyone Jay Z, had swiftly fractured into spin-off careers (MC Harvey, Romeo, Lisa Maffia, Oxide & Neutrino), acting (Asher D, aka Ashley Walters), TV presenting (Harvey), running record labels (Maffia, Megaman), prison (Carl Morgan, jailed for murder) and being the go-to house fillers for the most desperate producers of Celebrity Big Brother.
Imagining themselves the garage Stone Roses, SSC booked the 20,000-capacity O2 Arena for this gig, part of a farewell tour that has shrunk and shrunk amid a slew of cancellations. It's downgraded back to Indigo2 – a venue they could fill just with friends and family – but they still put on an arena-sized party. In a stylish array of blazers and bowlers and with their ranks swollen by Ms Dynamite and Wretch 32, they're a theatrical carnival revue set to skittering beats, brown-sound bass and mangled TV themes. Each player has their exits and entrances: a chunky Neutrino steals the show with his Casualty-sampling Bound 4 da Reload and the cartwheeling chorus of Remy on da Floor; Twins ping-pong telepathic rhyme volleys on Up Middle Finger while Swiss delivers hood lament Broken Silence with touching gravitas.
Some personalities clash – Lisa Maffia is a cool, stage-owning presence, offsetting ringmaster Megaman's slips into panto mode as he plugs his clothing line and gives out gift bags to the front row. But 21 Seconds merges the disparate hive into one huge skanking family, the stage as crammed and lively as the dancefloor. A celebratory final reload.
• Did you catch this gig – or any other recently? Tell us about it using #Iwasthere
Rating: 3/5 Reported by guardian.co.uk 4 days ago.
The south London UK garage collective's reunion party turned out to be a celebratory farewell, too
The comeback cash barrel isn't as bottomless as some reunion bands think. A decade after the commercial failure of their second album, 2nd Verse, So Solid Crew staged a sold-out IndigO2 show in March, a bold return for the south London UK garage collective – up to 30 MCs, DJs, producers, pirate-radio stars and the odd stage-school kid – who gang-rushed pop culture in 2001 with the irrepressible 21 Seconds. It pumped the collective confidence of these grime pioneers and gang culture scapegoats who, once they'd realised that any 30-way money split wasn't going to make anyone Jay Z, had swiftly fractured into spin-off careers (MC Harvey, Romeo, Lisa Maffia, Oxide & Neutrino), acting (Asher D, aka Ashley Walters), TV presenting (Harvey), running record labels (Maffia, Megaman), prison (Carl Morgan, jailed for murder) and being the go-to house fillers for the most desperate producers of Celebrity Big Brother.
Imagining themselves the garage Stone Roses, SSC booked the 20,000-capacity O2 Arena for this gig, part of a farewell tour that has shrunk and shrunk amid a slew of cancellations. It's downgraded back to Indigo2 – a venue they could fill just with friends and family – but they still put on an arena-sized party. In a stylish array of blazers and bowlers and with their ranks swollen by Ms Dynamite and Wretch 32, they're a theatrical carnival revue set to skittering beats, brown-sound bass and mangled TV themes. Each player has their exits and entrances: a chunky Neutrino steals the show with his Casualty-sampling Bound 4 da Reload and the cartwheeling chorus of Remy on da Floor; Twins ping-pong telepathic rhyme volleys on Up Middle Finger while Swiss delivers hood lament Broken Silence with touching gravitas.
Some personalities clash – Lisa Maffia is a cool, stage-owning presence, offsetting ringmaster Megaman's slips into panto mode as he plugs his clothing line and gives out gift bags to the front row. But 21 Seconds merges the disparate hive into one huge skanking family, the stage as crammed and lively as the dancefloor. A celebratory final reload.
• Did you catch this gig – or any other recently? Tell us about it using #Iwasthere
Rating: 3/5 Reported by guardian.co.uk 4 days ago.