Reviews - Events
Chromeo Rock The Bush
venue: SHEPHERD’S BUSH EMPIRE, LONDON, UK
what we think: My goodness…could this band be anymore fun to watch?!
by liz cirelli
With the release of their new album Fancy Footwork, Chromeo pop back to London to say hello to Shepherd’s Bush empire…and we decided to go along for the ride…
As we hopped our way into The Empire, we could hear the wonderful eclectic beats of DJ Mehdi warming up for Chromeo. The crowd were totally up for it, jumping around all over the place, spilling their beers & generally having an absolute whale of a time. Mehdi played his last tune and the lights in the auditorium dimmed…everyone joyously starts chanting “oh Chromeo, oh Chromeo!” at the tops of their voices. Even though they sounded very similar to a football crowd cheering on their winning team, I have to admit, it was amazing to see how much these people love Chromeo – the atmosphere in the venue was absolutely electric.
The stage lights came on & the crowd let out a thunderous cheer, spilling yet more beer and turning their happy Chromeo chant up a decibel or two. The music begins and the lyrics “oh Chromeo, oh Chromeo” came dancing out of the speakers…wow!!! These guys actually have their own theme tune! How cool!! Needless to say, everybody was by now waving their hands in the air & excitedly singing along. Chromeo (aka P-Thugg and Dave 1) enter the stage & the show begins. The music these guys make is fun…seriously fun – in fact I don’t think I’ve ever seen a live dance act that emanates so much fun as this Canadian duo.
P-Thugg masterfully snaps out 80’s-influenced synth lines from his Nord and his talkbox tube has me almost wetting myself. Guitarist & vocalist Dave has a tremendous energy, dancing around the stage and throwing drumsticks out to the crowd. P-Thugg & Dave both grab a drumstick and begin hitting a cowbell as if their very existence depended on it…cheers all round! This really is one of the most entertaining dance acts I’ve ever seen. Slick riffs and fantastic harmonies ring out from the stage, P-Thugg makes extensive use of his talkbox tube (much to my liking) and Dave continues to maintain the energy of the show with more frivolous cow-bell hitting and drumstick-throwing. The show ends in a shower of glitter & reverb and I find myself gleaming from ear to ear. That was absolutely fantastic.
DJ Mehdi then returned to the decks, continuing the party with a shower of nu disco, techno, electro and hip hop…seriously…how many records does this guy take to his gigs? The variety of music he plays is wonderfully extensive. Chromeo come to the front of the stage to sign autographs and perhaps chat to their adoring fans a little, then take to the decks to end the party with a dash of hip hop. One thing is for certain…these guys sure do know how to throw a party!
Fancy Footwork is out now on Turbo Recordings and is available to buy from HMV, Amazon & iTunes.
