HAVING utilised the vast back catalogue of the seminal Blue Note label to source their jazzy samples, the New York hip hop crew of three have come under considerable critical fire lately and have been witheringly dismissed as a onetrick pony with a taste for musical necrophilia. The begrudgers may have a point. Friday night's show at the Opera House, though lively and well received, suggests an act in need of fresh inspiration.
Rappers KCB and Shabaan trade rhymes and chimes with verve, the samples have been craftily thieved and sound effortlessly classic, but after a time it all sounds a littlelife less. Still, the top ten single Cantaloop was a dizzying, swirling highlight; and, of the newer material, the nicely paced Recognise and Realise stood out.
On Saturday night, the Heineken Weekender reached an elegantly be suited climax when dapper Eighties icons ABC took to the stage for a run through their own diamante encrusted back catalogue. With singer Martin Fry in fine voice, old favourites like The Look of Love and Poison Arrow went down a treat.