Thou Shalt Always Think After A Gig

Just got back from an ear-pounded evening at The Cockpit in Leeds. The main attraction was to see Dan Le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip who introduced us to their new album and a host of old favourites in the infamous ear-destroying arches of one of Leeds’ most popular music venues.

Norman Bar, or Norman's as it's more commonly known. Pic (c) Briggate.com

Before the gig we headed to Norman’s for tea. Norman Bar is often overlooked as an establishment to enjoy fancy beer but its elitist and trendy weekend image belies it’s self-proclaimed internationally stocked beer fridges. Goose Island IPA, Anchor Steam, Modelo Negra, Black Sheep and Pilsner Urquell are complimented by a draught line up including Duvel Green, Lindeboom and Addlestone’s cider. It’s also set in a contemporary and atmospheric space, lit with shades of purple and blue that fall just the right side of pretension. The oriental menu serving Japanese noodles and Thai red and green curries are dishes to be reckoned with and at £5.50 for a pint and a spicy filler are great value on a midweek lunch.

We washed down fish and chips (£5 on Fish & Chip Thursdays) with cool, crisp Amstel and with buckets of time to kill nipped around the corner to Rock Bar, Dom Matteo’s Balearic-inspired drinking den. Lavishly furnished – a cross between Moroccan luxury and Ibizan chic – it isn’t the sort of place I’d find myself at peak times.

Thou shalt not serve repetitive generic beer...and Norman Bar doesn't have a bad line up

We only had the staff to contend with though and nestled up in oversized and elaborated stitched cushions, waxing lyrical about Glasto rumours and intoxicated festival excursions. Slightly out of place but we didn’t care – they had Tiger kegged and Brooklyn Lager chilled in the fridge, so no complaints directed towards the ex-United defender turned barman.

Onwards to the gig. There’s no such luck with finding a decent selection of well kept beer at The Cockpit, but that’s ok. Red Stripe in bottles (and I’m sure usually in cans too) is all you need to get you through here and it’s just perfect that way. We wouldn’t change it for the world. Well perhaps swap Carlsberg for something, anything, else given half a chance. If you can tear your feet from the sticky floor to bounce around to the music you’ll certainly need a good intake of water too.

Norman Bar Leeds, picture borrowed from Norman's website with thanks

Dan Le Sac and Scroobius Pip are a double act: Scroobius Pip is a poet by trade, with a natural gift for rhythmic musings. I guess you could call him a rapper, but all the baggage that comes with that label doesn’t suit him. Dan Le Sac is the music man, dazzling us with warp-speed hands on some type of music box sheltered behind his Apple Mac notebook. They enter the stage with gusto, piling straight into an exhilarating track from their first album.

Le Sac’s beats are infectious. They shake your shins and rise up from your trembling feet to your abdomen, reverberating through every vital organ until you are acutely and sharply conscious to every sense. Simultaneously Pip’s politically charged lyrics hammer home messages of equality and context until your ears are fit to bleed.

If you’re lucky enough for your ears to survive intact (when you hear these songs on the radio you can’t feel the bass, but see them live and it’ll rattle in your head for days) the duos social commentary and liberating call-to-arms will linger in your ears long after the Radiohead-scored Letter From God To Man closes the curtain on proceedings and you may start thinking twice before passing judgement the next time life requires it.

Scroobius Pip delivers pinpoint social observations at Glastonbury last year. Fittingly, the blue light was just as the camera captured it (he's unfortunately a Millwall fan).

So I’m sat at home all reflective now, contemplating not only the ringing in my ears but life, love and the brutal reality of the world we live in. Scroobius Pip does that to you, he speaks volumes of truth and his words say many things I wonder about but could never articulate my feelings on. Words that are drilled home amidst a hailstone of bass from Le Sac that would make Thor proud. A beer would probably help numb some of more negative ruminations but I’ve had one every night this week and I’ve an important call at 9am.

Beer’s a great catalyst for putting the world to rights, and so is music. But mixing the two on a school night can be a little taxing on the brain.

Dan Le Sac VS Scroobious Pip – Letter From God To Man from dooferz ggg on Vimeo.

Look for the woman – Scroobius Pip and Dan Le Sac from Jim Philpott on Vimeo.

Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip – “Thou Shalt Always Kill” from Mikey Levelle on Vimeo.