I look ridiculous and it should be blatantly obvious to anyone that we are in fancy dress but during the course of the evening we are stared down by real chavs, avoided by the general public, ID-ed (I'm 33!) and refused entry into a bar. I've never been treated so badly by the general public based on my appearance and I have dreadlocks!
We are off to see Goldie Lookin' Chain and dressed like this I suppose it is the journalistic equivalent of method acting. With my cap on sideways I am enjoying walking different and speaking poor English. I even stole a Cadbury's Cream Egg from Tesco but I don't think it will qualify me for an asbo.
Sauntering through Bristol we manage to find the venue without getting ourselves into a fight and squeeze ourselves into a jam packed Fleece n Firkin. If I'm honest I haven't got the highest of expectations for the event. I half expect a bunch guys, just going through the motions like parodies of themselves in order to generate some more income. Have I forgotten? GLC aren't just a bunch of guys, they are a bunch of friends being stupid, having a laugh, poking fun at themselves and hip hop.
The boys take to the stage sporting all manor of branded tracksuit except for Adam Hussain who it turns out is wearing a woman's multi-coloured tracksuit with gold chains actually on the print. They explode into life opening with 'Half Man, Half Machine'. The audience is looking highly amused by their antics but in terms of crowd movement things are a little slow hindered by the fact that the 400 capacity venue is stretched to its limit and we are all crammed shoulder to shoulder.
As the evening continues they begin to warm the crowd with a mixture of typical GLC banter and what is unsurprisingly, a selection of their best known anthems. Their infectious spirit and daft dancing are hard to resist and the sound quality is rather good. In fact I am shocked that I can actually understand what they say live. Over the years I have listened as multi-million selling rappers perform live and what is polished in the studio becomes unintelligible live.
With a forthcoming album due out they drop a few new ones into the set with a small introduction about each. Clearly very little has changed in their music. Their new music is high energy and if anything slightly more sophisticated in its production, although in fairness that still isn't very advanced. The new single 'By Any Means Necessary' is particularly good, fast, catchy and great for shouting along with the chorus.
The thing about a band of eight extroverts is they are always going to be fun to watch as at any given moment one of them will be doing something stupid or funny. For me personally I can watch Maggot's dancing all night as it reminds me of my uncle dancing at a wedding about a month after his stroke.
As I watch them all doing their various raps, jokes and dances I begin to think to myself Will I be seeing these boys at Butlins when I am 70? I can't help but think that is a very real possibility and then I think Is that really such a bad thought?
They finish with two classics 'Your Missus is a Nutter' and 'Your Mother's Got a Penis' and as they leave the stage it was as if they had never been away and it seems like they may be around for sometime longer.
FUTURE GIGS
- date performer venue price
-
Sat 27 Apr 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Newport
Strings Bar Venue
[PO301RR] £25.00
SOLD OUT -
Sun 28 Apr 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Newport
Strings Bar Venue
[PO301RR] £25.00
BUY TICKETS > -
Fri 6 Sep 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Manchester
Gorilla
[M1 5WW] £20.00
BUY TICKETS > -
Sat 7 Sep 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Preston
The Ferret
[PR1 2XQ] £20.00
SOLD OUT -
Fri 13 Sep 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Leeds
Brudenell Social Club
[LS6 1NY] £20.00
SOLD OUT -
Sat 14 Sep 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Sheffield
The Leadmill
[S1 4SE] £20.00
BUY TICKETS > -
Thu 19 Sep 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Norwich
Epic Studios
[NR3 1JD] £20.00
BUY TICKETS > -
Fri 20 Sep 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Birmingham
The Hare and Hounds
[B14 7JZ] £20.00
SOLD OUT -
Fri 4 Oct 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Glasgow
St Luke's
[G40 2JZ] £20.00
BUY TICKETS > -
Sat 5 Oct 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Edinburgh
La Belle Angele
[EH1 1JD] £20.00
BUY TICKETS > -
Fri 11 Oct 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Oxford
Bullingdon Arms
[OX4 1UE] £20.00
BUY TICKETS > -
Sat 12 Oct 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Exeter
Exeter Phoenix
[EX4 3LS] £20.00
-
Fri 18 Oct 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Nottingham
Metronome
[NG1 1AP] £20.00
BUY TICKETS > -
Sat 19 Oct 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Newcastle upon Tyne
The Cluny & The Cluny 2
[NE1 2PQ] £20.00
BUY TICKETS > -
Fri 1 Nov 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Gloucester
Gloucester Guildhall
[GL1 1NS] £20.00
BUY TICKETS > -
Sat 2 Nov 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Bristol
SWX Bristol
[BS1 2JY] £20.00
BUY TICKETS > -
Fri 8 Nov 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Narberth
Queens Hall
[SA67 7AS] £20.00
BUY TICKETS > -
Sat 9 Nov 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Swansea
Sin City (Formerly Casablanca)
[SA1 4AQ] £20.00
BUY TICKETS > -
Fri 15 Nov 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Brighton
Concorde 2
[BN2 1EN] £20.00
BUY TICKETS > -
Sat 16 Nov 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Camden
Electric Ballroom
[NW1 8QP] £20.00
BUY TICKETS > -
Sat 16 Nov 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Camden
Electric Ballroom
[NW1 8QP] £20.00
BUY TICKETS > -
Thu 21 Nov 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Huddersfield
Tokyo
[HD1 2SP] £20.00
BUY TICKETS > -
Fri 22 Nov 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Birkenhead
Future Yard
[CH41 6AB] £20.00
SOLD OUT -
Sat 23 Nov 2024
Goldie Lookin Chain
Cardiff
Tramshed
[CF11 6QP] £20.00