Reviewed by Matt Hudspith
After seeing Dj Yoda perform before at Bestival, I was extremely fortunate and excited to see him perform again. This time however, it was a bit different.. It was 9 o'clock on a wednesday evening at an intimate Academy 2 in Newcastle. The brilliant thing about seeing Dj Yoda play is that you have no idea what to expect, whether its just a dj set or an Audio-Visual set, he is sure to have you moving, laughing and talking within the first 5 minutes. He is possibly one of the biggest players in the audio-visual scene right now, if no the pioneer. He is amazing with just two turntables, but throw in some more and a DVD mixer, and you are in shock with what he is able to achieve. Songs move seamlessly into one another and the visual just makes the experience that much better.
The brilliant thing about this performance was how unique it was. Yoda threw in some video clips of Alan Shearer playing for Newcastle Utd, which had the crowd going bonkers, and a few photos he had taken of the university campus which got the students among us a bit hyped, not to mention all of this being backed up by the Byker Grove theme tune. This was one moment that only those in the club would experience which made that night just soo much better. I would strongly recommend anyone to go and see him play because not only does he put on an amazing show, but he has got raw talent, and If you don't understand the term 'going to see a dj', then look no further than this one.
Showing posts with label Matt Hudspith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt Hudspith. Show all posts
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Chinese Sate Circus @ The Sage, Gateshead
Reviewed by Matt Hudspith
Last night was the first time I had ever been to a circus, and although The Chinese State Circus is not your typical circus, it still had me glued to my seat at The Sage in Gateshead. We were treated to watch the story of 'Mulan' unfold right before our eyes and although this was a performance geared towards children the majority of the crowd was made up of adults, all extremely impressed.
The first half contained The Shaolin Warriors who amazed the audience with their sword trickery and martial art skills, which involved twisting their bodies into shapes I thought weren't humanly possible. I was extremely impressed by the strength, balance, and determination of the men who were involved in this part of the show. After the Shaolin Warriors came the Lantern throwers who balanced 15ft lanterns on just one arm and would seamlessly complete forward rolls while still holding them. The Lantern throwers finished off their performance with a routine that involved throwing the lanterns to one another in a straight line without looking, this part of the performance was extremely well received by the crowd.
The final performance of the first half was by the female Unicyclists. This was arguably one of the best performances of the show. The girls would ride around on unicycles, balancing bowls on top of their heads then flip other bowls onto the one on their heads using their feet, it was truly incredible, all that I can say is that you need to see it to believe it! This was a fantastic end to the first half.
After the interval we were treated to more acrobatics. We saw men flying through hoops doing many a front flip and still managing to land on their feet as well as the second installment from the Shaolin Warriors. However in my eyes, the best part of the show came immediately after the interval when a group of gymnasts scaled two large vertical poles and flipped, slid and swung round them without breaking a sweat. This performance was simply fantastic.
I would highly recommend seeing the Chinese State Circus if given the chance as the words put before you do not do it justice, it really is something you have to see and experience to believe it.
Last night was the first time I had ever been to a circus, and although The Chinese State Circus is not your typical circus, it still had me glued to my seat at The Sage in Gateshead. We were treated to watch the story of 'Mulan' unfold right before our eyes and although this was a performance geared towards children the majority of the crowd was made up of adults, all extremely impressed.
The first half contained The Shaolin Warriors who amazed the audience with their sword trickery and martial art skills, which involved twisting their bodies into shapes I thought weren't humanly possible. I was extremely impressed by the strength, balance, and determination of the men who were involved in this part of the show. After the Shaolin Warriors came the Lantern throwers who balanced 15ft lanterns on just one arm and would seamlessly complete forward rolls while still holding them. The Lantern throwers finished off their performance with a routine that involved throwing the lanterns to one another in a straight line without looking, this part of the performance was extremely well received by the crowd.
The final performance of the first half was by the female Unicyclists. This was arguably one of the best performances of the show. The girls would ride around on unicycles, balancing bowls on top of their heads then flip other bowls onto the one on their heads using their feet, it was truly incredible, all that I can say is that you need to see it to believe it! This was a fantastic end to the first half.
After the interval we were treated to more acrobatics. We saw men flying through hoops doing many a front flip and still managing to land on their feet as well as the second installment from the Shaolin Warriors. However in my eyes, the best part of the show came immediately after the interval when a group of gymnasts scaled two large vertical poles and flipped, slid and swung round them without breaking a sweat. This performance was simply fantastic.
I would highly recommend seeing the Chinese State Circus if given the chance as the words put before you do not do it justice, it really is something you have to see and experience to believe it.
Tuesday, 20 October 2009
Chase and Status
Review of Chase and Status at Digital 11th October
Matt Hudspith
Previous experiences of drum and bass nights for me have involved standing in room 2 in Fabric (London) surrounded by loads of people drugged up to the eyeballs looking so far from where they actually were it’s scary. Yet last night at Digital (Newcastle), was a completely new experience. I have to admit I had a preconceived opinion that Chase and Status were more intent on making big tunes for the money rather than the love of music, but I’m pleased to say that last night they proved me wrong. The gig was incredible. They had so much energy and the crowd reacted extremely well. It was more like being at a rock gig than anything else. Yet although that sounds strange I’m starting to realize why that is so; although recent production work with the likes of Rihanna and Canadian hip-hop artist Drake may suggest otherwise, it’s clear that some of their major influences are from rock music. The club was packed, a third of the dance floor taken up by the stage and filled with at least 1000 people, the night was full of elbows to the face, sweat drenched t-shirts and a good handful of mosh-pits. The show was hosted by MC Rage who got the crowd moving right from the start and was easily the centerpiece of the whole show, while Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status) were glued to keyboards, synths, and laptops turning the stomachs of those in digital upside down and inside out through the heavy basslines that shot out of Digital’s notorious ‘Funktion1’ sound system. They played the whole of their debut album ‘More Than Alot’ along with personal favourites of mine ‘Heartbreak’ and ‘Saxon’ which aren’t included on their debut album. Plan B, the special guest for the night, was extremely well received and sung their new single End Credits, and finished off the night with arguably everyone’s favourite from the album ‘Pieces’. Their new album on Vertigo Records is set to be finished by next February, and with a release date within the first half of next year this one is not only set to be huge, but full of surprises!
Matt Hudspith
Previous experiences of drum and bass nights for me have involved standing in room 2 in Fabric (London) surrounded by loads of people drugged up to the eyeballs looking so far from where they actually were it’s scary. Yet last night at Digital (Newcastle), was a completely new experience. I have to admit I had a preconceived opinion that Chase and Status were more intent on making big tunes for the money rather than the love of music, but I’m pleased to say that last night they proved me wrong. The gig was incredible. They had so much energy and the crowd reacted extremely well. It was more like being at a rock gig than anything else. Yet although that sounds strange I’m starting to realize why that is so; although recent production work with the likes of Rihanna and Canadian hip-hop artist Drake may suggest otherwise, it’s clear that some of their major influences are from rock music. The club was packed, a third of the dance floor taken up by the stage and filled with at least 1000 people, the night was full of elbows to the face, sweat drenched t-shirts and a good handful of mosh-pits. The show was hosted by MC Rage who got the crowd moving right from the start and was easily the centerpiece of the whole show, while Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status) were glued to keyboards, synths, and laptops turning the stomachs of those in digital upside down and inside out through the heavy basslines that shot out of Digital’s notorious ‘Funktion1’ sound system. They played the whole of their debut album ‘More Than Alot’ along with personal favourites of mine ‘Heartbreak’ and ‘Saxon’ which aren’t included on their debut album. Plan B, the special guest for the night, was extremely well received and sung their new single End Credits, and finished off the night with arguably everyone’s favourite from the album ‘Pieces’. Their new album on Vertigo Records is set to be finished by next February, and with a release date within the first half of next year this one is not only set to be huge, but full of surprises!
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