Sunday night saw slowthai bring his ‘Bet Ya A £5er Tour’ to the North East in a show which lived up to the hype of the rising star.
For five pounds, this maybe the best value gig, I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing with the energy in the room reaching the levels seen upon the stage. With a full laser show combining well with a searing performance by the Mercury Prize nominated artist.
The rapper, who came fourth in the BBC Sound of 2019, reflected in his debut LP release ‘Nothing Great About Britain’ on the fractured and broken social landscape of Brexit Britain, whilst providing a hopeful twist for the future. This is well translated into the show with huge mirrors greeting fans at the door with the message ‘Something Great About Britain‘ emphasizes the message of love shown by the rapper.
The politically charged atmosphere continued throughout the gig with various ‘F*CK BORIS’ chants demonstrating his ability to tap into youth culture and unite people in a time of such turbulence. A particularly touching moment came when the rapper pointed to his mirrored stage and proclaimed that ‘these mirrors are what’s great about Britain’. In doing so uniting the crowd behind him.
The crowd interaction is what made the gig feel so dangerous in all the right ways, to see a crowd united behind a message of love and against hate is all the more powerful in the current climate.
It is perhaps apt, that a show with such a strong message of unity, showed the bond between the artist and crowd which was demonstrated throughout the show with the rapper regularly joining the masses as well as inviting guests onto the stage.
Whilst certainly not a large venue, this turned the gig into an intimate and personal experience even from the very back you felt part of it. One moment, which particularly captured this was a touching and emotional rendition of ‘Northampton’s Child’ performed for only the third time live.
The song, a beautiful tribute to slowthai’s mother perfectly encapsulates all that is great about this artist combining social commentary with raw and personal lyrics which puts him amongst the UK finest’s artists. This, amongst other songs from his debut album and prior EPs, created a very special atmosphere not generated by many artists.
If you get the chance to see him make sure you take it, you won’t find the levels of energy and passion even if you went to a different gig every day for a year it was simply fantastic make sure to check him out.
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