We review the opening night of Professor Green's ten year anniversary tour for his career defining album At Your Inconvenience...
I turned up at Rock City on Saturday evening to see Professor Green but first the obligatory support band, usually an act that just fills the time before the main artist delivers the real entertainment, BUT... this was very different!
I'd never seen Monster Florence live before and this was an awesome surprise. They are a six-piece band with drums, bass and guitar (with the bassist and guitarist doubling up on synths) plus three vocalists delivering an airtight performance.
They played tracks from their new album Master System and they created a storm with the crowd. I know this is a review mainly on Professor Green but please, please check out these guys. With hypnotic beats from a flawless drummer and bass, guitar and synths locking in smoothly to allow vocalists Dream Mclean, Wallace Rice and Alex Osiris to harmonise, contrast and battle it out up front.
Could the evening get any better? Well, yes it could actually, and it did! The Prof, aka Stephen Manderson, walked on stage with a sea of mobile phones trying to capture the occasion. This was a moment for the rapper to soak in all the love and affection from the audience and at times he looked genuinely humbled. A packed house decided to let him know how much they wanted to party, and he did not disappoint.
It was the start of a tour that was originally booked to happen in 2022 and to celebrate ten years since the release of his career defining album At Your Inconvenience. Fans had waited for far too long and they made up for that lost time. Bass lines shook the room and Professor Green spat out the lyrics to his anthem Don't Piss Me Off, with every man, woman and beast in the room singing along.
He gave a mix of classics and newer tracks including some belters from the At Your Inconvenience album. I even saw someone crying when he sang Astronaut! This was an emotional evening for both Professor Green and his fans. As the energy seemed to be at a maximum ten out of ten, the multi-talented rapper stepped it up to an eleven when he introduced Monster Florence singer Dream Mclean onto the stage to join him for a handful of songs.
Energy, energy, energy. It was at 101% and folks were breaking into dancing all around me as the partying became harder. I'm not sure how the rest of Professor Green's tour will go, but it started in Nottingham, and we set the bar high at Rock City on this night.
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