Live Review
Groove Armada @ Forum, Kentish Town, London NW5 – Wednesday 3/3/10
** (solid performance)
Pulling in a packed house to Kentish Town’s Forum on Wednesday night, Tom Findlay and Andy Kato’s Groove Armada seemed keen to leave their arrival on stage to the very last minute.
Perhaps concerned that the crowd would still be funneling out of nearby boozers having watched the most anticipated England friendly in years, Groove Armada finally emerged at nearly a quarter to ten.
Huge applause, massive sound and a great venue, Forum was packed to the rafters with a crowd that was more experienced than baby faced but still punched its fair share of appreciative youth.
Introducing a heavy load of new material from recent album Black Light, the band met with a warm early reception. Too many seemed uninterested in new singer SaintSaviour – a bleach-blonde futuristic reincarnation of La Roux with a penchant for Yoga-style arm workouts.
In contrast, when long-time collaborator MC M.A.D landed, the show took off. Effortlessly guiding the band through Get Down, M.A.D’s performance went down a treat. A return to the stage in the encore saw the band finish with a rollicking Superstylin’ creating chaos in every corner of the venue.
Underneath the tripping laser show (no drugs were consumed by the writer), Groove Armada lacked true musicianship, leaving the show rather two-dimensional. A going-through-the-motions approach to Ibiza classic At The River had more than a few people wanting more in an encore that was worth the entry fee alone.
Everything was solid – everything sounded fine – everyone enjoyed the show. Black Light may demonstrate that Groove Armada’s sound is changing, but their live act still shows they are a band that can easily operate at the highest level.
Leaving themselves just an hour and fifteen minutes to wow an audience that could probably have danced all night was a hard task. Unfortunately tonight, Groove Armada didn’t quite hit the mark.
Steve McNeill
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