Photo credits: Jake Davis @hungryvisuals
Considering how rarely Crazy P do live shows, we knew we were in for something special. In honor of the release of their new album ‘Age of the Ego’, the Percolate show in Electric Brixton gathered like-minded people from all walks of life – mum’s who had to catch the tube back after the show to get back to the nanny, people in the golden age claiming they’ve been fans since the 90’s (and that was nearly 30 years ago now!), students, couples, singles, friends groups, LGBTQ, all nationalities – an audience united over the universal understanding that there is love and there is heartbreak and a bunch of dysfunctional romances in our lives and this music is the balm to all our somehow vulnerable souls. Crazy P is the ultimate feel-good music and with their growing collection of heartfelt and ultimately liberating music, it was hard to get a space in at the sold-out show.
With an alarming announcement that the doors close at 20:30, people came flooding on the dot. Thank you to the bouncers and security for being flexible and relieving us from our panic that we were late. The warm-up artists Medlar and Roscius delivered a smooth transition of instrumental and modular techno setting the mood for the show that was about to begin. And then the lights came on and there they were: Chris Todd, Jim Baron, Danielle Moore, Tim Davies, Matt Klos – Danielle donning a sexy jumpsuit ready steal the show: as they always do!
Demoing through the new album, there has been a revisit to older material from ‘24 Hour Psychedelic Freakout’ and ‘Walk Dance Talk Sing’ as well as going through golden tracks until Danielle ends up in a suit trooping around with a “We Will Fuck You Up” sign, probably the most prolific moments of the show. The energy and power this woman exudes is indescribable and is so empowering and the dancing and celebration gets going. All the way through ‘Stop Space Return’ driving a real funky fun environment to get the moves going followed by ‘Witch Doctor’, Leading on through a fierce performance and dancing, the band is so engaging and is a joy to photograph as the passion in the words of the songs they sing is so obvious.
We were warned the show was over, until a demanding encore brought the band back on stage with a surprise gospel choir appearance singing ‘This Fire’ in unison, only to actually close with ‘Heartbreaker’. Another wholesome moment as this song is one of their most recognized tracks that got their acclaimed recognition. Everybody held hands-on friend’s and lover’s shoulders, lost in the shimmering vibe of the music, people singing along and feeling their absolute best selves while security had a real nightmare getting fans off the chairs and tables. A closing thank you speech reminded all attendees to vote and to meet Danielle at the nearby KFC if anybody fancied it. A most wonderful way to spend an evening on a cold November night and waking up the next morning with an extra little lift in our step.
Listen to Crazy P’s ‘Age of the Ego’ album here and check some videos of that night here.
