Live Review

Chase And Status – O2 Academy, Liverpool

• 23rd Nov 2010

The top floor of the venue was packed with a young late-teen crowd anticipating the band with genuine excitement. When the DJ’s made their grand entrance with, “Never mind the b*llocks, here’s Chase and f***in’ Status”, the smiles on each and every face grew even bigger and did not waver once throughout the whole performance. The frontman immediately gets the entire crowd bouncing in unison to the pounding bass on the sample ‘Give It Away’ by Red Hot Chilli Peppers. The whole floor was bouncing all gig upon his constant request of wanting to create “carnage”.

Said frontman succeeded in making sure he grabbed everyone’s attention from the off. A very charismatic and affable fella, not letting the crowd settle at all to the heavy yet catchy and uplifting bass lines. They can certainly put on a gig, ensuring the crowd participate throughout rather than just watch. I gathered this after just two numbers. More and more bands are doing this, sparking the two-way communication between band and crowd. If the band can back this up with great tunes, which C&S certainly did, both parties are guaranteed to have a better and more memorable night than expected.

The performance reminded me of a milder happier Prodigy. For someone who admittedly doesn’t know much about the drum n’ bass/dance scene, they were amazing, mainly because their music crossed every genre known to man (e.g.: African tribal, urban American ghetto rap, 70’s murder mystery TV theme tune, amongst others). They have the knack of cleverly implementing samples into their music without overdoing it, including Rage Against The Machines ‘Killing in the Name’ used later on to magnificent effect. This is when samples are allowed. Each number was different, coming in a variety of tempos but still easily passing as dance music, even the slower tunes. Yes, they weren’t afraid to even show their sensitive side, dedicating the acoustic number genuinely to each and every person in the venue, again ensuring everyone was joining in singing along before the obvious but great beat came in.

The collaboration with Dizzee Rascal (unfortunately not present) encouraged the moshpit, then special guests immerged in the form of Liam Bailey, Marley, Jacora (?) and one more (name forgotten sorry), which contributed to C&S claiming this night being “the best night of the tour”. I felt they meant this genuinely, as seems to be a common statement that all artists make when they perform here, a great compliment to the music lovers of this city.

A diverse group never afraid to experiment because they are so confident of producing great work every time, which on this evidence, they do. I think the person who entertained me most was the sound engineer at the back. He could have well been on stage, dancing all gig WHILST performing his good work. That’s what I call multi-tasking.

I have rarely been to a gig where literally EVERYONE seriously enjoyed themselves and showed it. I haven’t heard their album as yet but I imagine they could be better live than on record, like most dance music. I may be wrong, but that’s not to say their forthcoming album ‘No More Idols’ will be short of being a classic. I can only imagine this will be money well spent if purchased. The only thing you’ll miss is the colourful backdrops accompanying the music. Another huge act you’ll hear more and more of over the next few years. Good luck to them. They are a breath of fresh air.

Chase & Status are certainly the act of the moment and the future. Their highly anticipated second album No More Idols is released on January 31st and features collaborations with Plan B, Dizzee Rascal, Cee-Lo and White Lies but they were also keen to work with rising home-grown talents including Claire Maguire, Maverick Sabre, Liam Bailey and Tempa T to name a few. The album includes three smash hits – the top 10 End Credits and Let You Go and the recent free download Hypest Hype that crashed the Vertigo servers, well exceeding expected demand!

Their next single is Blind Faith, out 24th January and the duo, Will Kennard and Saul Milton, are currently on a sold out tour. They wowed the crowds this summer, playing to over ½ a million people and headlining many of the major UK and European festivals.

Check out their website – [link]
Album – No More Idols – Out Jan 31st
Single – Blind Faith – Out Jan 24th