The one big surprise (for me) to have come from last Saturday's concert at the De La Warr (that bastion of difference right in the middle of the prosaic heartland!) was Speech Debelle. Having arrived a little late and rushed in to The Invisible and their expansive, mind melting sound she was a breath of fresh air on sweaty and aurally overwhelmed faces. This is not to take away from The Invisible who were astounding in their ability to close the cynicism gap - 8 minute songs that only occasionally vary from a prescribed rhythm take a lot of snakelike charm to make you stay interested. They have been called Mogwai-esque. I debate this as their sound feels less like the roaming expanse of a predator over a field and more a pounding run through an urban zone of decay. With a relentless intensity and driven focus personified by their frontman Dave Okumu you can see why they have been such a lynchpin for remixes in the past few months. I found it difficult to get a handle on but I want to get to know more, so that's a musical success I think.
Speech Debelle came out exhorting the neat crowd to gather close and apologising for her sunglasses inside 'I'm just shy'. A little ball of energy and massive reserves of humour she began by teasing her fellow bandmembers and spitting out a choice selection of tracks from 'Speech Therapy'. Compared to the passive 'play and see' exhibited by the other two acts that night Speech too no chances. Don't like Grime? Came here to see Micachu? Poor you but you'll just have to live with a great live act for now. The ballsy performance was full of pathos and good (and very encouraged/orchestrated!) audience interaction that was complimented fully by the energy and optimism on stage. I cannot rate her highly enough and she made this a truly enjoyable night. A very hands on woman with directing the lighting too.
Following a great intermission - thanks to the guys behind the bar! Contacts are a good thing! Micachu and the shapes came out to a bit of a stuttering start. Seemingly determined to go in the absolutely opposite poppy direction of the previous act they mired themselves into a couple of songs that seemed thematically bound to feedback. It was like a Pearl Jam b side and actually a huge downturn in the night not helped by the churning out of each track at an unstoppable pace. I really wanted to like this band but until they slowed down and got more confident later in their set they were fairly ordinary - live maybe not the best showcase for some of the earliest set choices. With a move back to pop and harmonising the dynamic changed and became more exclusive, reaching out to people rather than coldly and artistically formal although the feedback had by now become monotonously ubiquitous. The last 4 songs performed really did transform a fairly apathetic reaction though and were well recieved for their craft and genuine excitement. Perhaps a repeat viewing is needed to see if this was just a blip?
Overall though a fantastic but under attended show which had a lot of punch for a tenner a ticket. Knowing the team at the De La Warr this is the latest in a long line of strong acts to appear and surely not the last.
