Review of Dan le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip at the Sugarmill (20/04/08)

The stage was littered with props to resemble a front room and the crowd was half empty (or half full). This never stopped the gruesome twosome that is Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip from putting in a blistering performance. They began by entering the stage to the sound of the Antiques Roadshow themetune before Dan le Sac cut it up to create their own version.
They then ploughed through their set playing all their familiar songs with Thou Shalt Always Kill receiving the best reception. The props were not just there to make the stage look good as they had their uses. The TV set which was on stage would later feature live footage of the duo with the use of modern technology, as the lamp which was on a table actually doubled up as a camera. Another prop he used masterfully was a coat stand complete with mac and hat. He slid his arm inside the jacket and caressed his other arm as if it was two people. This scene was inspired (or stolen) from the theatre production called Slava's Snowshow (watch video below to see a clip of the original). I haven't actually seen the show and only knew that it was inspired from this because Scroobius told us. Not in the conventional way by speaking but he held up large pieces of paper with it written on. Very much in the style of the famous Bob Dylan video for Subterranean Homesick Blues.

You can tell that the band have toured a lot as they look at ease on stage and their act is finely polished. They tried to rouse the audience as best as they could but it's not easy when the crowd is so sparse.

Click to see a video of them live in concert

It had filled up more than when the opening act Producers With Computers were on stage. Well when I say on stage they actually spent most of the time on the dancefloor. They are also made up of just two people and their style is also hip hop. No bling or gimmicks needed by these just a straight out assault on the ears. They were backed by a recorded backing track and exchanged witty lines. Their set was also filled with humour with We Don't Like You a particular highlight. The lyrics to the song were aimed at the audience who they told that they basically hated their guts. Not what you normally expect when you go to a gig but I found it hilarious.

Go to Producers With Computers MySpace page

Breaking up the beats was the all-girl pairing called Peggy Sue And The Pirates. Not sure which one was The Pirates as neither were sporting a wooden leg or an eye patch. It didn't really matter as they both had decent voices and also supplied the accompanying music themselves. For the first song this just happened to be a simple click of the fingers but they did also use a guitar, tambourine and various other instruments.

Go to Peggy Sue And The Pirates MySpace page

My alternative review can be found in the Monday 21st April edition of The Sentinel.