9 Lives Clik + Yorkshire Terrierz

I'm sorry to start on a negative but it's probably best if I get this off my chest to begin with. Whoever promoted this event must have no idea what flyers and posters are, they must have never stumbled across this thing we call the internet; that new fangled contraption.

I've never actually been to any kind of public event that was so under attended. Sure, people drifted in and out all night but by the time 9 Lives hit the stage there was me, my bro, our mate and a handful of others (shouts to Leady for representing his scene).

To be fair the bill was good. The aim of the event was to celebrate 'the influence of Hip Hop on modern British music and culture' and was put on as part of Black History Month. I missed the first act, Dave Acari a blues guitarist and arrived to see Roya perform. I'm going to have to be critical about this and since I've already slagged off the organisers I might as well say this: Roya can't sing live. Some of her beats were pretty heavy but overall her performance was uninspiring. Dboy hit the stage accompanied by an electro-acoustic guitar and a good voice; he played a few nice singer/songwriter tracks including a melancholy cover of Britney's (Hit me Baby) One More Time. A couple of beat boxers (Who were you?) provided some proper entertainment, by that time I was ready for some Hip Hop. Ridim Ryda was next with some dubstep but again, to be honest, he needs to step up his live game.

9 Lives Clik were a breath of fresh air, every time I see them play they get better. These boys are certainly skilled but good raps and beats ain't all they got; they entertain and engage. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on some recorded material from these boys (2 solo albums and 1 mixtape coming soon I am assured) and in a twist on the usual way of things - I hope it's as good as their live show. If you haven't seen them live, just go see them, they had me grinning and nodding my head (what more could one wish for?). I believe Chief Wiggum is playing tonight (Friday 2 nd November) so be there. Look out for the trading of rhymes they seem to have concocted on a bus and the time machine, highlights my friends, highlights. One thing you may not get to see again is the boy band ballad mockery they derived from the presence of a stool on the stage.

The other half of the audience then got on the stage: Yorkshire Terrierz. For a group with over 3000 friends on myspace I was surprised about the turn out (but as you know I blame the promoters). Despite the lack of crowd they did their thing. I'd heard a couple of their tunes before (thanks to itunes, check for their album/mixtape on there) and their set was not a disappointment. Their brand of street level life rap is made fresh and consistent with their use of their Yorkshire accents and dialect. The Terrierz add another ingredient to the bubbling melting pot of Hip Hop in Leeds, it's only really their accents that would make their music sound out of place in either the UK scene as a whole or the US. With some hard work and accurate marketing they could become integral in the UK scene.

All in all, a good night musically but atmospherically it was lacking that extra something that really lets you enjoy a night of live music.