Chase & Status Live Review

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Chase and Status

As you all know, Chase & Status are not only climbing through the charts with their new smash hit single, End Credits, feat. Plan B, but they're also in the midst of a live tour, which landed in Bristol last Thursday, at the rather unusual location of the University of Bristol's Student Union.

The crowd - predominantly the under-18 age bracket, with a sprinkling of students – was full of energy and enthusiasm for Nero, who got things pumping with their D&B / dubstep fusions, before Chase & Status took over and proceeded to smash the place to pieces with live performances of all the old favourites from More Than Alot.

Andy Gangadeen, from The Bays, was on the drums, with Will and Saul on duty behind enormous, brightly lit metal letters, 'C' and 'S'. The sea of sweaty, enthused faces, with a raucous mosh pit at its centre went berserk as they opened the performance with a rollicking Smash TV, and ended on yep, you've guessed it... End Credits.

Throughout the show, dramatic lighting, strobes, smoke and some quality MC action kept the energy going until the curtains went up and a burst of applause shook the room.

The after-party was held at LAB with D*Minds, Nero (again!), Interface and Koan Sound headlining. It attracted a pretty sizable crowd, and though the second room was perhaps a little redundant, the main room was packed for most of the night. Upcoming Bristol dubstep talent, Koan Sound have been a duo that I've heard lots of people talking about recently, and with good reason – they played a fantastic set that really captured my attention - watch this space!

Nero played a similar set to their one at the Chase & Status gig earlier, blending in the D&B and dubstep, and paving the way for D*Minds set nicely, who were double dropping the badboy D Style anthems – the D*Minds remix of Scratch Perverts' Warning, Jakes' Warface, and TC's Borrowed Time, amongst others.

A surprise visit from Chase & Status came towards the end of D*Minds' set. Strangely, they seemed to remain rather anonymous for such a highly publicized, well-interviewed act who are plastered over every publication and website at the moment. Even more strangely so, considering their rather inconspicuous guises – Saul, in his trademark trilby, Will, in a very nice, tailored trench coat... in the middle of a sweaty D&B club in Bristol! Still, all part and parcel of a night down and out in Bristol, I suppose.