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Despite the positive statement their name entails, The Go! Team must still be amazed at their success over the past year. Particularly Ian Parton, the Brighton-based musician who this time last year had just released the band’s debut album ‘Thunder, Lightning Strike’, recorded on his own with a bag records and some keyboards. Now he is onstage in London’s Astoria surrounded by five of his friends and a bevy of backing singers. While the album sold well thanks to old-fashioned word of mouth marketing, Parton’s record company informed him they had secured a support slot on tour with Franz Ferdinand. A quick ask around friends and acquaintances found the people who have belatedly formed the live band to perform Parton’s sample-heavy songs. One Mercury Music Prize nomination and a starring role at a number of festivals this summer, The Go! Team have created such a stir that the touts outside the sold-out Astoria are almost shouting themselves into a frenzy of buying and selling. Inside support act Lady Sovereign is as far from the state of frenzy as possible. The 18-year old MC could find herself in a similar state of self-pinching as The Go! Team this time next year, but right now she’s looking and sounding a little worse for wear. Half way through her opening number ‘Blah Blah’ he stops the band and apologies to the crowd. “I’m out of it”, she laughs and takes a swig of beer before launching into a full-on raucous rendition of ‘Random’. The jarring bhangra chorus and breaks seem to perk her up and soon she’s in full lyrical flow. She precedes ‘Ambulance’ with a story of hitting a girl with a broom handle, while someone in the crowd shouts, “give her an ASBO”. Later on she refers to herself as a chav and introduces ‘Hoodie’ by urging the crowd to join her campaign to save the beleagured garment. It’s obvious that she is cleverly ingratiating herself into Middle England’s current chav obsession, though there’s a danger that this tiny, white girl with a sideways ponytail could become a short-lived novelty act. However Lady Sovereign seems to be much too talented for that to happen. She’s an excellent rapper with clever lyrics and no punches pulled attitude, plus her new tracks like ‘9 to 5’ and forthcoming single ‘Hoodie’, are more polished and laden with catchy hooks than the harsh grime sound of ‘Random’. She closes her set with the blistering metal meltdown of ‘Public Warning’ that sets off a spurt of slamming in the front row, and then strides cockily off stage. You get the feeling she’ll be back. By the time The Go! Team take the stage the venue is packed and being a Friday night, spirits are higher than usual. As ‘Junior Kickstart’ bursts out from the speakers the floor of the venues literally starts to bounce. When you have music as layered and well-crafted as the songs on ‘Thunder, Lightning Strike’ it can be difficult to recreate the sound live and on the opening number Parton’s crucial harmonica line gets lost in the flurry of beats and noise. But The Go! Team is very much a live act still in the making and they have quickly moved on from recreating Parton’s record to forming their own band-driven sound. A crucial element in this is cheerleader come singer Ninja, who adds lyrics and raps to the group’s instrumentals throughout the evening. She is a wonderful, quivering bundle of energy, constantly dancing, waving pom-poms, as well as engaging in some sweet interaction with the crowd. But her vocals are often an annoyance and she ruins a number of great tracks with her basic rap style and mediocre voice. When she’s joined by the quartet of track-suited backing singers for new song ‘We Just Won’t Be Defeated’, the show suddenly feels like some kind of uplifting, message-driven children’s TV show; a budget Sesame Street. While ‘Thunder, Lightning Strike’ always manages to stay on the right side of twee, an increase in lyrics about “positivity” and suchlike, could push it over the line. This should be avoided thanks to the sound contribution of the rest of the band. Each one seems assigned to a dozen different tasks and they swap instruments, pull recorders out from nowhere and take turns at one of the two sets of drums. Drummer Chi comes from behind the kit to sing at one point, and a banjo is produced for an encore version of the charming ‘Everyone is a VIP to Someone’. Aside from a slow and sweet new track, there’s hardly any let-up in the musical mayhem. It’s all about the party and The Go! Team are a similar live act to Basement Jaxx in that respect, except there is no slowing of the pace. For what is essentially a pop group, there’s any uncommon amount of crowd surfing and the venue itself almost heaves forward for the final number, a stomping version of ‘Ladyflash’. After a great year, the future looks good for The Go! Team. But now they are a proper team and not a one-man band there are sure to be changes as well. If they can retain their edge and curb their sing-a-long with Barney tendencies they’ll be going for many more years. words: Colm Larkin |