Being such a big fan of Hip Hop, I am genuinely gutted I haven’t seen this band sooner. With DJ Jazz T coming to stage first to open the gig, showing off his impeccable DJ skills to a pumped crowd who immediately surged to the front of the stage as soon as the music started. Soon after he was joined by the masked men to open, and the fun began at Clwb Ifor Bach.
Starting off the gig with their iconic owl masks on, made it difficult at first to see who they were but one voice sounded so familiar to me but couldn’t for the life of me think where from. For the first couple of tracks while the masks were on, I made it a game to try and think of who it could be like a solo version of the Masked Singer. It must have been my confused look on my face which my friend picked up and shouted, “You know that’s Verb T right?”.
It was not just Verb T that I was impressed by though, but with the talented MC Leaf Dog, FlipTrix and BVA, they demonstrated how important it is to know not only their own lyrics but their fellow MC’s too because their timing was impeccable, and they didn’t miss a beat all night.
Wetting the whistle with a swig of beer between verses the group pushed it and got better and better as the night went on, so good in fact that about halfway through they had some of the crowd up on stage to enjoy it on a completely new level.
As the night drew on, the classics started to come but not before a brilliant scratching interlude reminding everyone how talented Jazz T is. It was now time for the last two tracks of the night, and they saved the best for last ending with Assassination which made the crowd ignite followed by my favourite track of the night Think Twice.
After the gig and as we took a quick browse at the merch on the way out, as is tradition, the Owls were quick to swoop in signing vinyls and t-shirts. A very nice touch after a very impressive performance.
Jonathan Woolway
My First Music Memory
My earliest music memory doesn’t come in the form of the first album I bought with my pocket money or what was popular growing up in the school playground, thank god growing up with some of the music we had in the 90s, that, and most my friends at that time having a ‘interesting’ taste in music.
When I look back, my earliest memory is of playing on my PlayStation 1 in our living room while my parents did their chores on a Saturday morning. (Although my dad doesn’t let me forget about the time I fell asleep during a Yes concert).
The game was Pandemonium but if you asked my now what the music was like on that game, I’d tell you it was jam packed with tracks from the Lighthouse Family and Prefab Sprout, that was growing up living with Mum and Dad.
“Tony Woolway Rock & Roll Legend” my friends use to call him because I would always be talking about the music he has shared with me, gave me the perfect balance of Punk with bands like the Clash and sixties stuff like The Kinks, as well as something a bit smoother like Mum’s favourite Barbra Streisand.
Listening to these different types of artists gave me a good base to discover artists that I would later love in my teens like Green Day and later the amazing Lucy Rose.
With the BB jeans and DC trainers you would think all I listened to were bands like Blink 182 and Sum 41, which was still true, yet music for me at that point was more than what I was supposed to be listening to or what was popular. I would often put on headphones in the living room while my parents watched TV. I would make out I was listening to Red Hot Chilli Peppers but would also sneak one of their CDs on when something good was happening on Casualty. Simple Red’s Stars was always a favourite from an earlier age so that was always a go to for me, but it’s also the lack of music for me that I remember the most. I always thought at the time that wireless headphones were a thing of the future, and they really were with these making you play a game of standing statues to listen to a song with no interruptions Such was the awful reception.
I remember listening to the Gorillaz first album on my dad’s birthday and bugging him to buy it for me with his birthday money which he did after only the 43rd time of asking. See he can be a nice guy.
Getting my first portable CD Player meant I could take my music everywhere and anywhere as long as I wore the same coat with the big pockets to carry it. the memory that sticks out for me is not taking it with me on a nice summers bike ride or to the park to play music with my friends, it was the medicine to get me through my GCSEs or what poisoned my results.
I remember the times I had to go to bed earlier, as I had to be up early for school but secretly hiding my CD Player under my pillow in case my parents came to check if I was asleep. I spoke to my parents about this the other day and they had no idea that’s what I use to do. Can’t believe they didn’t spot it even after most CDs ended up case-less in my room.
Now, I spend most my time listening and discussing the latest Hip Hop on our podcast, Two Diff Boyz And Their Podcast (cheeky plug) and think how have I ended up here. I suppose Hip Hop for me is kind of like a modern-day Punk and I think it’s that similarity that picks my interest and the love of the bass guitar. I often share music with my dad that I think he will like usually off the back of something he has sent me from back in the day, the latest being Thundercat after borrowing his Stevie Wonder vinyl collection which he doesn’t know about yet!
By Jonathan Woolway
