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| Nina Smith - Photo by Big Bear |
It has to be said that Nina Smith is an incredible vocal talent. Her voice won me over instantly and she grabbed the attention of the crowd, prising them away from their conversations to listen, in awe of her brilliance. Her backing band consisting of bass, acoustic guitar and a Cajon with some light cymbal use added a nice modern day twist to their folksy builds and enthusiasm.
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| Basement Forte - Photo by Big Bear |
Following Nina was the fairly fresh faced Basement Forte, who took to the stage with amazing raw energy, that the two front men managed to maintain throughout the entire set. Their setup is fairly unique; two mc's mixing it up in the crowd, two female vocalists and then the obligatory drums, bass and guitar. A lot can be said for Basement Forte's style, which really works and clearly draws the cloud in.
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| China Shop Bull - Photo by Big Bear |
China Shop Bull - oh yes! It was a non-stop barrage of energy and excitement from start to finish. Incredible stuff to witness, and they also get a special mention for 'cover of the night' when they dropped into Prodigy's Out Of Space that blew my mind.
Raw brass hooks, heavy bass lines and a wild MC in a gimp mask with a giant duck hanging round his neck from a huge 80's hip-hop gold chain, made China Shop Bull a memorable live act. They are a mash up of genres with a heavy ska foundation and it works really well. They somehow maintain the energy of ska, but they have left behind the adolescent phase that comes hand in hand with the genre and moved onto bigger and heavier things.
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| 25 Past The Skank - Photo by Big Bear |
By the time China Shop Bull finished their set and the dust had settled it was late. Everyone's anticipation for 25 Past The Skank had been building all night and The Maze was now at capacity. Goliath, the bouncer was turning people away at the door and it was time for the last band of the night to hit the stage.
Despite being one man down, 25 Past The Skank we're on top form brandishing a host of guest mc's to fill in for the missing man, who had apparently just moved to New Zealand.
At some points the stage was so crowded with members of the other bands joining in, it felt more like a party than a gig. They put on a great set, and the remaining front man did a sterling job of keeping the crowd moving into the early hours. Great bands, great times.
25 Past The Skank, China Shop Bull, Basement Forte and Nina Smith played at The Maze on Friday 7 January 2010.
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