What do a teenage rapper, a former member of Blur and a happy, hairy pop quartet have in common? Musically, very little, but Kano, Graham Coxon and the Magic Numbers made their new year debut sharing a bill supposed to showcase the best in new British music. In a typically sparse January for gig-goers, the line-up looked enticing, although as a to-be-televised event it
made for a frustrating night out. The sets were shorter than the time it took acts to set up their gear, and getting down on the dancefloor meant dodging camera equipment and women with clipboards.
The East Londoner Kano had the night’s toughest job — and not just because of a 7.30pm start, when most MCs with a gig to go to would still be deciding which T-shirt to wear. A late replacement for the advertised openers Hard-Fi, Kane Robinson had to battle with beats to rouse an indie crowd unsure of his songs.
Usually described as grime or garage, Kano’s music was more like US hip-hop, bolstered by squelchy synth riffs and rumbling basslines. His moves were torn from Eminem’s handbook, but with rapid, eloquent raps, catchy samples, a rock-rap track that borrowed from the Beastie Boys and a ballad that recalled Akon, Kano proved he has lots of crossover potential.
The Magic Numbers had only to turn up squeezed into suit jackets and shake their hair to get the audience going, and during their mellow opener, The Mule, it looked as though they might not do much more than that. By Long Legs and a rollicking Forever Lost, however, the foursome were on fine form. If the Magic Numbers were worried that their summery songs might lose their impact come winter’s dark days, they can rest easy. Last year’s most surprising success story still sounded like a breath of fresh air.
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With a new album due in March and Blur claiming they want him back, Graham Coxon closed the show with what came close to a swagger in his step, backed by a four-piece band in a loose uniform of striped tops. The quality of Coxon’s feisty punk-pop has surprised even longtime fans of his solo work. The new numbers might take a bit of breaking in, though. Their tight, spiky, Jam-influenced sound was spot-on, but Coxon’s Ray Davies-gone-Del Boy accent was worse than Damon Albarn’s circa Parklife.