THE GO! TEAM + ABRACADABRA – CHALK, BRIGHTON 1.4.23
This was no April Fool’s joke, Brighton’s favourite cult collective The Go! Team were back on home turf for the first time in five – yes five years, their last appearance being 11th February 2018 at the Concorde 2, you can read our report HERE. Tonight they are in action at Chalk, which is located in Pool Valley.
A lot has happened in the intervening years. Lead singer Ninja has had two children, founder Ian Parton has unfortunately suffered partial hearing loss with Ménière’s Disease, they’ve refreshed their line-up and they have released two further albums ‘Get Up Sequences Pt.1’ in 2021 and ‘Get Up Sequences Pt.2 ‘ in February of this year.
The Go! Team first appeared in my orbit when their seminal debut album ‘Thunder Lightning Strike!’ (released in 2004) was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize. The first time I saw them perform ‘Huddle Formation’ and ‘Ladyflash’ (both of which happily made the setlist tonight), the performances were both striking and innovative, they absolutely fizzed and it was fair to say I’d not seen a band quite like them before. I’ve been a fan ever since.
They blend a mix of rapping, chanting, singing, dancing, samples and double-dutch style into an unique and intoxicating fusion that really comes alive on the stage as it did tonight, lead singer Ninja putting in a great shift in her Michael Jordan basketball top and sports gear. The band sometimes change roles during the show to make the stage performances even more dynamic.
Although as previously alluded to they have attracted something of a cult following, they have enjoyed some great commercial success too, so I was very surprised to see the venue was not completely sold out this evening. No matter, those of us who attended enjoyed a top night. If you know – you know!
Rather than focus on their latest album as many bands do, The Go! Team treated us to a walk-through of their entire career repertoire spanning their debut album right up to the current day.
The whole set was fab, but the standout tracks for me were ‘Huddle Formation’ with the crowd joining in vocal duties on that one and generally acting as chief cheerleaders for the duration of the set.
‘The Semicircle Song’ with it’s shifts in tempo and steel notes works really well as a live track, ‘The Power Is On’ is always a crowd favourite creating a cacophony of sound that filled the venue and ‘Going Nowhere’ from their latest album really shifted the set’s tempo, with it’s stripped-back production, vocal and slightly out-of-tune quirkiness.
However, the outstanding pick of the night’s tracks was one of the new ones ‘Divebomb’, unmistakably Go! Team, incredibly catchy and a real earworm, it wouldn’t have sounded out of place on that first album, proving that they have absolutely ‘still got what it takes’. Well worth a listen if you haven’t heard it.
Their show closed out with a rebel-rousing rendition of their 2011 release ‘T.O.R.N.A.D.O.’
As a final goodbye, Ninja sweetly took to the stage with her young daughter (replete with ear defenders) to introduce her to the crowd, a possible future member of the band in the making I’m certain!
This is a band who are all about energy, innovation and entertainment and tonight was no exception. I just hope they don’t leave it so long to return to their home city next time!
The Go! Team:
Ian Parton – vocals, guitars, harmonica, piano, drums, triangle, glockenspiel, tambourine (2000–present)
Sam Dook – guitars, banjo, drums, tambourine (2004–present)
Ninja (Nkechi Ka Egenamba) – vocals, drums, tambourine, recorder (2004–present)
Adam Znaidi – bass guitar (2018–present)
Niadzi Muzira – drums, percussion, recorder (2020–present)
Jaleesa Gemerts – drums (2022–present)
Deanna Wilhelm – trumpet (2022–present)
The Go! Team setlist:
‘Let The Seasons Work’ (from 2021 ‘Get Up Sequences Part One’ album)
‘Mayday’ (from 2018 ‘Semicircle’ album)
‘Ladyflash’ (from 2004 ‘Thunder, Lightning, Strike’ album)
‘Divebomb’ (from 2023 ‘Get Up Sequences Part Two’ album)
‘Get It Together’ (from 2004 ‘Thunder, Lightning, Strike’ album)
‘I Loved You Better’ (from 2021 ‘Get Up Sequences Part One’ album)
‘Semicircle Song’ (from 2018 ‘Semicircle’ album)
‘Huddle Formation’ (from 2004 ‘Thunder, Lightning, Strike’ album)
‘The Scene Between’ (from 2015 ‘The Scene Between’ album)
‘Gemini’ (from 2023 ‘Get Up Sequences Part Two’ album)
‘Going Nowhere’ (from 2023 ‘Get Up Sequences Part Two’ album)
‘Keys To The City’ (from 2007 ‘Proof Of Youth’ album)
‘Everyone’s a V.I.P. To Someone’ (from 2004 ‘Thunder, Lightning, Strike’ album)
‘The Power Is On’ (from 2004 ‘Thunder, Lightning, Strike’ album)
(encore)
‘Whammy-O’ (from 2023 ‘Get Up Sequences Part Two’ album)
‘T.O.R.N.A.D.O.’ (from 2011 ‘Rolling Blackouts’ album)
www.instagram.com/itsthegoteam
Support this evening was provided by Oakland based duo Hannah Skelton and Chris Niles aka Abracadabra who had come all the way from California to play for us. They proffered their own brand of magic in an entertaining support set with their band.
I’m not entirely sure how to pigeon-hole their music, so I won’t attempt to, but their description of ‘the new wave of no-wave’ probably sums it up well. Check out their funky track ‘Talk Talk’ and the quirky ‘In A Photo’ both of which got an airing tonight and which I thought were the pick of the set. These are from their 2023 album stylised ‘shapes & colors’ which is a good name as it sums up the textures and composition of their sound.
Abracadabra:
Hannah Skelton – lead vocals, synth
Chris Niles – bass
Tom Smith – guitar, synth, vocals
Greg Poneris – drums
Dylan Edrich – percussion, vocals
Abracadabra setlist:
‘Talk Talk’ (from 2023 ‘Shapes & Colors’ album)
‘In A Photo’ (from 2023 ‘Shapes & Colors’ album)
‘Swim’ (from 2023 ‘Shapes & Colors’ album)
‘At The Zoo’ (from 2023 ‘Shapes & Colors’ album)
‘Tracing Outlines’ (from 2020 ‘Abracadabra’ album)
‘Comb Your Hair’ (from 2020 ‘Abracadabra’ album)
‘Hello Peru’ (from 2020 ‘Abracadabra’ album)
