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[[1L]] may 2012

Clubland’s fierCest live shows

THE GiG3

Sub FocuS @ uKF baSS culture, o2 academy brixton

The story of OLight show opens Stargate for bass cadet

n it’s 3am and the 5000-capacity sloping space is packed with ravers. topless, sweating bodies glisten in the light from myriad mobile phones that resemble little electric campfires from the gallery above. the full spectrum of bass music is on show, with spectacular productions from feed me to andy C’s ‘alive’ thundering through the theatre, before the brit-hop foreign beggars let loose in front of the temporarily lowered stage curtain.

Just ten steps behind them the enormous new light rig for sub focus, aka london-based d’n’b maestro nick douwma, is being lowered from the

ceiling, as the man himself walks calmly into the backstage area, flanked by cameras and dressed all in black.

out front, two girls ride their friends’ shoulders, silhouetted by a distant exit sign as the stage curtain lifts to reveal a series of led-ridden ‘o’s, the largest leaning 30° toward the crowd. between flying spotlight beams the circles ignite to a salvo of bass, like an illuminated gyroscope or sci-fi stargate, all pulsing spirals, hexagons and hypnotic circles. it’s an epic sight, one which leaves everyone utterly fixated and barely aware that there’s also an mC on

stage hollering his lungs out.standing between the rings above

and controlling their power with Xbox Kinect-like arm gestures, sub focus switches between violent dubstep wobbles and soaring drum ’n’ bass vibes. his versatility is a huge part of the attraction, seamlessly lowering the tempo into the synth chords and unmistakeable electro riff of ‘Could this be real’ before the wondrous sample from vangelis’ ‘spiral’ reveals that it’s time to ‘let the story begin’, unleashing all kinds of euphoria, and a new exciting chapter for one of bass music’s hottest talents. PHIL DUDMAN

n inside Florence welch there’s a club diva trying to get out. tonight her sequinned disco cape makes her look like she’s just beamed in from planet Paradise garage. and check the pounding drumbeat that underpins many of her ballads, for example kooky opener ‘Only if For a night’ – which seems to suggest her ‘new Kate Bush’ tag means Kate after Utah Saints got hold of her. Songs like ‘Between two Lungs’ and ‘Shake it Out’ may be better suited to the afterparty than the club, but you can’t doubt the hardcoreness of a woman in a battle-armoured ballet outfit bemoaning the heavy weekend she’s just had. welch is surely one of the first and best post-house vocalists, one who can both soften the edges of the Source’s classic ‘You got the Love’ and invest the electro-pounding ‘Spectrum’ with a furious 3am vitality. twenty years ago she would either have been shrieking over a rave Pa in a community centre in Dumfries or she would have been whitney Houston. either way, you want her at your party. DAVID POLLOCK

the guitar dance sounds of neon indian, aka alan Palomo, will be let loose at Village Underground as he tours new album ‘era extrana’ on June 6 ... the Rapture are

coming to UK as part of their world tour playing the Oxford O2 on may 1, Shepherd’s Bush empire may 2 and norwich arts Centre may 3 ... Plan B has announced plans to tour new album ‘iLL manors’ with a series of

unique woodland shows starting in thetford Forest on June 15, with the finale in Cannock Chase Forest, Staffordshire

on June 29 ... the joint Jay Z and

Kanye west ‘watch the

throne’ tour hits the O2 greenwich

may 18–22 ... Finally, check

out the Dub Pistols’ ‘worshipping the Dollar’ album launch all-nighter on may 11 at electric Brixton, joined by High Rankin (live), Rob Da Bank, eddy temple-morris, Shut Up and Dance and Rednek.

SbtrKt @ rocK city, nottingham

Florence & the machine @ Secc, glaSgow

n the need to upgrade to a venue the size of Rock City due to such a demand for tickets sums up the anticipation in the air for the penultimate date of SBtRKt’s UK tour. aaron Jerome and vocalist Sampha take the stage, set with an electronic mixing desk, a keyboard and an acoustic drum kit. Both sport their trademark native african masks, designed to focus attention away from the artists in favour of their contemporary, post-dubstep funk. when the pair lay down ‘Something goes Right’ the restless, bopping heads grow arms that sway in celebration of the subtle bass and Sampha’s silky vocals. then the gentle intro keys of ‘trials of the Past’ create a rhapsodic relationship between everyone at the gig, its intense, rolling percussion accompanying Sampha’s impassioned serenade. with the drums looped, SBtRKt take to the decks, unleashing musical, high-pitched synths as the crowd sing along to the chorus. Finally, ‘wildfire’ featuring Little Dragon sparks a full-on, bouncy dance- off, the two-step track providing a fitting end to a unique night. JOE DAVIS

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nick Douwma: the Focus illusion

Plan B