01 November 2018 (gig)
07 November 2018
The Negrito Nation was out in force at Camden’s legendary Dingwalls (part of the London Roots Festival/Future Juke co-promotion) and the man did not disappoint.
Watching him live is an experience not to be missed – the vibrancy of his performance and the incredibly tight playing of his band all coupled with a brilliant selection of material is so much more than 'just a gig'.
The crowd was dancing from the first notes of ‘Bad Guy Necessity’, although the crowd was packed in so tightly that dancing was essentially bouncing, and the atmosphere was feverish.
The temperature, on a cold Friday night, was getting up to mid-summer heat and for a crowd that comprised ages from about 16 to 66, male female and indetermined, the energy was incredible.
The set partly comprised numbers from the superb ‘Please Don’t Be Dead’ and the crowd was singing along to numbers such as ‘A Boy Named Andrew’ and ‘Bullshit Anthem’ but numbers from his earlier material such as ‘Scary Woman’ and ‘Working Poor’ were equally well received.
A personal favourite was hearing him play ‘A Cold November Street’ and then later in the set play the Blues classic ‘In The Pines’ – the emotion just dripping out of his voice.
‘Plastic Hamburgers’ was superb and followed up with 'Dark Windows' dedicated to his old friend Chris Cornell who had done so much to help Xavier Dphrepaulezz become Fantastic Negrito and he closed his set with a stunning version of ‘The Duffler’
At one point a fight broke out in the front row of the crowd and Negrito was first in to stop the trouble, calming the situation and getting everyone back to enjoying the show – he is nothing like the performers who hang back and distance themselves from their fans.
Support for the evening was completely new to me, Z-Star Trinity. A three piece fronted by Zee Gachette and playing psyche-Blues with heavy overtones. She is a belting singer, great mover and very fine guitarist. They had the crowd up and dancing and I enjoyed every minute of their set. One to watch definitely and I’m looking forward to their debut album release next year.
