It’s official. Swing is in. And as usual The Kazimier has its expert finger right on the pulse, keeping Liverpool’s alternative pendulum swinging in the right direction.
The latest type of music to go through the cultural reincarnater is swing and brass; an unlikely resurgence, but one that once experienced, makes all the sense in the world.
HOT 8 BRASS BAND are pioneering it over in the States, and now Manchester’s RIOT JAZZ are blaring it through pursed lips on English shores.
Riot Jazz come to Liverpool off the back of the festival circuit which has taken them out of their Manchester home to Kendal Calling, Soundwave, Bestival and beyond.
It is clear that their long summer of gigging has already paid dividends as Kazimier’s dancefloor is packed, the crowd worked up into a furor.
There are plenty of 1920’s Speakeasy stylings working their sharp suits all over the dancefloor while flapper girls swing neon poi round on stage.
DJs spin a mix of swinging tunes to get revellers into the swing of things; from MR SCRUFF, to remixes of LOUIS PRIMA’s Jungle Book hit, King Of The Swing.
When at just after midnight Riot Jazz eventually take to the stage the crowd goes wild, and from the first trumpet blare of HUMAN LEAGUE’s Don’t You Want Me Baby the dancefloor is a sea of unstoppable limb flinging and swinging.
They quickly work through some of their more well renowned cover versions including a storming version of CHEMICAL BROTHERS’ Saturate.
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| MC Chucky (middle) leads the brass brigade |
The group are accompanied by MC Chucky, who is a great medium between band and crowd, not that this crowd needs any further encouragement.
He is an excellent MC in his own right, and keeps the receptive audience moving with calls for them to show their jazz hands and a rap game in which he collaborates random words shouted out from the crowd into a rap.
But it’s when the band play their own soulful blend or funk and jazz on tracks such as Soundwave and Smart Price Gin that we see this group are not only great fun to watch and dance to, but that they have real talent.
To Chucky’s credit too he appears to have genuine love for the music and, unlike some MC’s, knows when to take a step back and enjoy the music.
They take a break to ‘get a bit more pissed’, and when the return at 2am, the crowd has lost none of its enthusiasm.
Getting closer to the stage for their second set, it is clear how much fun not only the crowd is having, but also the band.
The anthemic Sousamaphone is a highlight, paying tribute to the enormous tuba-like instrument and the man who wields it to provide the bass-stomp at the core of all Riot Jazz songs. The lyrics jokingly (or perhaps not) stating that the Sousaphone is why the girls won’t leave him alone.
No doubt the crowd would have danced all night if they could, but they graciously finish with a cacophonous of classic cover favourite, A-Ha’s Take On Me.
The whole gig is a euphoric and uplifting experience, and I dare anyone who sees Riot Jazz not have the time of their lives.
Thomas Jefferson
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