Soul II Soul @ UEA
They can still keep on movin' with the best of them
The LCR was full on Friday night, and first up were British jazz funk group, the James Taylor Quartet. There were indeed four of them, so it's not just a clever name, and they warmed up proceedings nicely with a set of mainly instrumental '60s style jams, including the theme from Starsky and Hutch, and some other familiar sounding tunes. It was one of those sets that was, at times, more like background music for the busy crowd - especially around the bar - but if you stopped and paid attention for more than five seconds, you were instantly drawn in. Taylor's Hammond led sound was spot on, and the band were impressively tight as they carefully wove a funky pattern into the crowd, and rewarded those paying attention with some top groove.
Then it was time for main event, Grammy award winners Soul II Soul. It's been a while since they've been about, but complete with original members Jazzie B and Caron Wheeler, they took to the stage to show the crowd that they can still keep on movin' with the best of them. Their sound was great, and the singing pitch perfect with obvious highlight Back to Life bringing cheers from the crowd, but for me, I found the whole thing a bit static, both onstage and in the crowd. Don't get me wrong, I want expecting a wall of death in the moshpit (there wasn't one), but I got a little bored in places with just standing and watching someone just standing and singing.
After a slightly too long period of having the house lights up and the music off(?) whilst they moved some stuff offstage, it was time for Dj leg end Norman Jay. Mr Jay played his usual eclectic style of house music mixed with anything he felt like, but some tunes felt slightly forced in, and led to some lulls in the flow. I don't mind being teased and denied a drop or two, but if it happens too often, I get distracted and frustrated. All in all, however, it was a good set that rounded off the evening nicely.
6/10
