!!! (CHK CHK CHK) + BABII – CONCORDE 2, BRIGHTON 01.12.19
In a Brighton room that, it seemed, went from empty to 80% full in a matter of seconds, Margate’s BABii instantly made the Concorde 2 her own personal space – full of newly devoted fans.
We’re not sure that everyone will have rushed out to buy her music…that’s not really what it’s for.
BABii is of the live breed. An unorthodox (but down to earth) electro-pop pixie who manages to be at the same time both confidently awkward and awkwardly comfortable with her audience.
Sidestepping an opening tune involving a tangled mic lead and a broken drumstick, she adroitly shimmied into a tantalising set that must have had most of the crowd grimacing in sympathy for her knees.
I don’t know about you, but looking around a room full of music fans who, like me, have experienced at least fifty flights around the sun, the idea of kneeling down for 30 minutes whilst still maintaining concentration on a stack of samples, loops and sequencers really instils a dual sense of awe and dread.
This isn’t dinner party music – but it is a perfect thing to experience in a live setting with great lights and like minded people.
If you want a good night out and are a fan of the unexpected we recommend you look out for a BABii show near you soon.
Find out more about BABii HERE.
And then to !!! (Chk Chk Chk).
OMG.
I’d almost (but not quite) forgotten what an experience it is to stand transfixed by this band.
Heavy-duty Bee-Gees disco, fronted by Nic Offer (the gene-spliced clone of Mick Jagger and Baxter Dury) and backed by a fair approximation of the Alabama 3 boys and girls (if they had been bred and raised on a 100% diet of crunchy beats), Chk Chk Chk (!!!) are a funk-infused musical manifesto explaining precisely why it’s a good idea for singers in bands to eschew the temptation of also playing a guitar.
Liberated from the obligation to hover over a pedal board, Nic has the freedom to roam and own the stage, strutting, jaunting, and generally preening himself in front of a near-capacity room of eager fans.
Furthermore, the benefits of the move to the ‘Chk Chk Chk’ name over the previous ‘!!!’ is also exemplified by the results of a Google search into the original moniker:
“Your search – !!! – did not match any documents.”
In this age of discovery by search engine that just wouldn’t do!
But this is the point where, as a music scribe, I just abandon abandon all hope of joining up a series of words that will adequately describe the band I’ve just seen.
So I’m going to lay down my quill and go and play the Chk Chk Chk vinyl album I bought as I left the gig – with my eyes tight closed so I can hold on to the impression I am still stood there in front of one of the best live acts I’ve had the privilege to see in person in a good few years.
Find out more about !!! (Chk Chk Chk) from their official website HERE and order ‘Wallop’ on pink and green vinyl HERE.
Visit and ‘LIKE’ our ‘What’s On – from Brighton and Hove News’ Facebook page HERE.
