Amazing. If I could leave the review at that, I would. But, even though that describes the night in question, it doesn’t provide for a great reading experience, so I’m going to have to expand a little. Having seen Reprazent (the original live DnB band, who pipped Radiohead, The Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy and the Spice Girls for the 1997 Mercury Music Prize) at Fabric in London only a month ago, Shapeshifter had big shoes to fill. Though having seen them multiple times in the past, I knew that they wouldn’t fail to impress. Despite the cold and the rain there was a long line outside the Metro, with eager fans waiting to get inside. Kudos to the door staff, who had us all in and out of the rain quickly and politely – a great start to the night!
Once inside, the packed crowd kept things warm. One thing I don’t like about a sold out crowd at the Metro is that it can seem you’re really rammed in there. I’m not one to complain about getting close to my fellow punters, but boy was the Metro packed in tight. The party had obviously been rolling before I arrived. Hearing deep basslines upon walking into the main room, it could only mean only one thing; Sydney’s finest, Ritual, was behind the decks. As a staple of the Sydney drum & bass scene since as far back as I can remember, Ritual always knows how to please the crowd, with everything from heavy rollers to jungle smashers. The sound at this point of the night was not the greatest. There was lots of bass, but the high was tinny and the mids were muddy. It was a shame, as Ritual was killing it.
Somehow, like magic, when P.Digsss took the mic, the sound stepped up a notch… It’s probably got something to do with the fact Shapeshifter have, quite possibly, the most talented sound guy in the world, Tiki from Salmonella Dub. Hearing P.Digsss greet the crowd in his booming, yet mellow voice, I knew we were in for something special. The rest of the band members took the stage. Redford picked up his drum sticks and the beats kicked off; little did the crowd know we were in for 2 hours of musical magic. Blasting through tracks, all the favourites were served up, including One, Electric Dreams, Long White Cloud and Bring Change, each of them getting the Metro jumping. Seeing Redford drum at that speed, and for that long, is incredible. They were really enjoying being up there and they put on a great show.
After a 15 minute encore the lights went up and, unfortunately, we had to shuffle out into the rain. Once again Shapeshifter reminded Sydney what live DnB is all about. A flawless performance, they had the crowd eating out of the palm of their hands from start to finish. It’s nights like this that reinforce why I love drum & bass!
dairock says...
dude wish i had the same night you did. i left well dissapointed.