The Streets | Billy Nomates
The Piece Hall, Halifax
22rd August 2024
Mike Skinner and The Streets offered their unique take on modern Britain in one of West Yorkshire’s most historic buildings. Paul Clarke joined a lively crowd who really got what he’s on about.
As the ravers and their kids assembled to hear The Streets tell his version of their own stories there was the welcome return of Billy Nomates as a quality support act. Billy’s career had nearly been derailed by a bunch of keyboard warriors who slagged her off from their bedrooms, outraged that a confident producer and singer had the cheek to perform with backing tracks she’d created herself. Billy was back with a bang doing her trademark stalk across the stage as if she was fighting with herself as well as the words. She spat out the caustic Hippy Elite and a looping Vertigo, full of angst and honesty in a performance that was a hearty two-fingered salute to the cowardly morons who tried, but failed, to bring her down.
Sometimes an artist comes along who really puts his finger on the pulse of modern Britain and Mike Skinner – aka The Streets – managed that with Original Pirate Material and rap concept album A Grand Don’t Come For Cheap, giving a voice to hardcore clubbers and vape shop customers who mainstream music simply ignored.
So tonight the audience was younger than usual with bucket hats seemingly de rigueur, and there was more than a smattering of Burberry and Stone Island as most people had made an effort as if they were back clubbing. And they were up for it from the first note getting their dancing shoes on from Who’s Got the Bag was Skinner’s response to lockdown, and the glory of a good session on the lash, which the virus put a temporary stop to.
By Don’t Mug Yourself a mosh pit was forming down the front and beers were soaring through the air, and Skinner had taken to standing on a monitor conducting Has It Come to This? Skinner might be a gifted wordsmith, but he’s also a canny producer who managed to meld smart thinking with strong beats like on the gospel-tinged Never Went To Church.
Skinner was certainly a chatty chappy, constantly talking to the audience as if they were his best mates, and if some of it didn’t quite make sense it didn’t matter as there was no ‘too cool for school’ nonsense for this affable Brummie. Mind you, his geography was a bit shaky as the mere mention of Leeds earned a hearty boo as he seemed oblivious to centuries-old Yorkshire rivalries.
Skinner is also a top-quality producer creating complex songs, so had smartly hired a top-quality live band who created the grooves that he spat the words over. Kevin Mark Trail was a sensational vocalist who added real weight to the uptempo numbers, and slower songs like the melancholic On the Edge of a Cliff, as Skinner considered the impact of mental health issues, which has become such an important topic in our post-Covid world.
As the beers continued to fly Skinner orchestrated a women-only mosh pit for a bouncing Fit But You Know It, complete with a grinding intro of Black Sabbath’s Iron Man as a nod to his Midlands roots. It prompted one old raver to go wild as she went right back to her youth, and that’s what live music is all about. Dry Your Eyes remained one of the greatest break-up songs, and looking around the crowd there were all sorts of emotions playing across people’s faces, from those who clearly had their hearts broken at some point, or the couple hugging tightly who were probably hoping they wouldn’t have to listen to this song in a very different context.
It went off for the still majestic Blinded By The Lights, which remained by a country mile the best song ever written about the ups and downs of being high in a scuzzy club. What made Skinner great is that he didn’t offer it as a morality tale, but just told it like it was, and you felt that most of the people in here knew exactly what he was on about. They’d been there and been transported back to those chaotic, fun nights.
There’s no doubt Mike Skinner is one of our best lyricists, but tonight he pulled off the rare feat of turning a historic Georgian merchant’s hall into a nightclub where we were all having it large.
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You can follow The Streets on Facebook and Twitter.
Words by Paul Clarke, you can see his author profile here
Photos by Frank Ralph, you can find Frank at his website | Instagram| Facebook
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