Guru @ Crawdaddy, Dublin 15 Nov 2004

On paper it was a guaranteed roof lifter. Gangstarr's Guru playing a gig in Crawdaddy, a living room sized performance space in Dublin's long standing venue, the Pod. As the MC of one of the most creative and name-checked hip hop acts that never managed to quite break through, Guru’s socially conscious lyrics combined with DJ Premier’s jazz-influenced beats making Gangstarr a welcome relief to the usual bling posturing associated with some of their better known contemporaries. Guru's side projects have included collaborations with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Kelis and Isaac Hayes; an eclectic approach which has worked on three Jazzmatazz side projects to date.

The night started well with semi-shambolic comic ramblings from support act Lil Chi and his mate Shaq who endearingly dedicated every second number to his mum in the gallery. Worth a mention too were the next support act The Gudmen, if merely for the fact that they're a hip hop act from Co. Laois - an oxymoron if ever there was one. Perhaps Laois needs a few drive-by
shootings to give its creative output more credibility - the Gudmen were a tad too earnest after the smart-assed rapping of Lil Chi.

Crawdaddy has been open a little under a year now and has played host to a mixed bag of leftfield artists, from Horace Andy to Jah Wobble. Its 300 capacity split level layout is ideal for up close and personal performances - the stage is within spitting distance of most of the audience. Guru's set covered the highlights of the Gangstarr years so far, including ‘The Militia’, ‘Royalty’, ’Just to Get a Rep’, and from the Jazzmatazz project, the sublime Angie Stone collaboration ‘Keep your Worries’. But despite Guru's best efforts to get the crowd going, the gig was strangely atmosphere-free.

Maybe it was the Irish smoking ban which left the air a little less fragrant than one would expect at a hip hop gig, but then again it could have been the rich D4 teenagers who were out in force along with their fake IDs and airs of privilege - there's something a little disingenuous about those
whose closest experience of ghetto life was when Daddy cut the limit on their gold card after they failed Physics in school, rapping along to someone like Guru's tales of police oppression and racism. The northside kids who really might have something in common with Guru's characters
(experience of prison cells, poverty, prejudice) prefer Tupac anyway, and stayed away from Crawdaddy. Part of the problem could be the fact that Dublin is overwhelmingly white and despite what Jimmy Rabbitte said in The Commitments about Dubliners being the blacks of Europe, faux-gangsterism among the southside rich-kids is incredibly hilarious.

With two new albums out next year - a solo Guru project and the fourth Jazzmatazz album, the maestro surprisingly chose to concentrate on old material and barring a few novelty efforts (the hip hop version of ‘Live and Let Die’ with Alvin and the Chipmunks on vocals, anyone?) this was a
missed opportunity to wow the audience with new joints. The gig would have been strongly improved with the inclusion of even one live musician - with Guru and Solar on vocals and Doo-wop spinning the records, even Crawdaddy's Ford Fiesta sized stage seemed empty and the live experience somewhat muted. Guru focused on covering the greatest hits where the occasional new track would have been welcome. The ‘White Lines’-sampling ‘Cave In’ even featured
twice.

It took a pumping rendition of ‘Full Clip’ to raise any level of genuine excitement from the crowd and five minutes later Guru & Co were gone, leaving the D4 posse to wander out into the cold Dublin air and wonder where they'd parked the 4x4.

words: Niamh Murray
photos: Ailbhe Gaffney

Have your say here