21 May 2010, Posted by admin in Pete,Review,Thoughts, No Comments. Tagged hawke, london, music, rave, Review

Kelis – Together Review

Words by Pete Hawke

So your name is Kelis and you’ve been absent from music for four years during which time your notable achievements include training as a chef, divorcing Nas and erm…getting arrested for shouting at some undercover police officers dressed as hookers. So how do you reassert yourself as a world-class diva in a world of upstart Lady Gagas and Rhiannas? You arrive an hour and a half late and only play for 15 minutes of course dumbass!

That might not sound like the most glowing endorsement with which to start a review, and the danger was that an extra hour and a half’s worth of alcohol plus assorted substance abuse might tip the crowd into an ‘I hate you so much right now’ style fit of rage at the talent’s tardiness. Thankfully for our comeback pop queen, the bonus booze served to oil the gears of our collective fun machine, and for those 15 minutes the Together crowd was thoroughly entertained.

Showcase gigs for new material often run the risk of boring the punters with a set full of unfamiliar tunes that simply can’t be sung along to; the saving grace for Kelis was that, quite-good-even-if-cheese-king-David-Guetta-did-produce-it single ‘Acapella’ aside, this was an approach she eschewed, opting mainly for the ones we did know (thank god for ‘Milkshake’), plus for some reason a rendition of Major Lazer’s ‘Pon De Floor’ (no complaints here).

Finishing off with the fail safe entertainment move of a massive glitter cannon, Kelis left us all wanting more. Let’s just hope we bloody get it next time yeah!