Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, Roisin Dubh

There’s a palpable sense of excitement pulsing through the crowd tonight as this Essex duo manage to sell out their Galway date once again, effortlessly too I might add. Outside there’s a queue of men and women quite willingly ready to sell their better halves for a chance to catch a glimpse of the mighty Dan Le Sac vs Scroobious Pip, but alas there’s not even a Willy Wonka stylee ticket floating about and as the doors close, Dan’s dirty electro beats drop it’s pretty clear from what’s to come just why that is.

Bar, toilet trot complete I make my way to the front, I’ve caught these guys live before and the clever use of theatrics and stage owning is worth front row presence alone. The crowd - small, intimate are quietly reassured that Dan le Sac and Scroobious Pip are nearby as the warm up DJ bids goodnight and the mandatory reshuffle of the stage begins. Dedication follows as I catch a glimpse of one fan with ‘DDAN LE SAC vs SCROOOBIOUS PIPP!’ etched onto her arm, Like me, I’m beginning to think she’s come back for more. Opening to a killer mash up of the antiques roadshow theme, the trumpet barely gets a chirp in as Dan smashes it with the darkest, dirtiest electro beats. Pip fully suited avec cap takes to the stage suitcase in hand suggesting the said use of theatrics that’s to come. ‘Good God your a noisy bunch’ grins Pip as he launches into a verse from ‘Waiting For The Beat To Kick In’ closely followed by ‘The Beat That My Heart Skipped’. This double act, upon first glance are polar opposites on all levels, yet at that work incredibly well together. Pip delivers his spoken word verse with passion, character and comic interjection as he broaches the taboo topics of our time. Head nestled firmly behind his laptop is Dan Le Sac providing live electro pulsed hip hop beats as a dancey backdrop to Pips poetic flow. The perfect balance.

These guys are in their element. Pips cheeky crowd rapport emerges again as he asks the crowd ‘hey, have we got any shitty couples here tonight pretending your still in love?’ while launching into the closest version of a love song you’ll get from these guys. ‘Look for the woman’ sees the duo’s strength shine as Dan provides the vocals for this stuck between a rock and a hard place view of relationships. With the audience, attentive and feeding into this raw genuine spit of emotion Pip recalls his last visit to Galway as an unforgettable one as their début album ‘Angles’ hit the shelves that very day, resulting in the duo viewing it for the first time in the Galway HMV store. Epic.

Albeit, there is a darker element to Dan Le Sac vs Scroobious Pip’s music, lyrics wise the guys deal with some pretty heavy content tonight as Pip puts it himself ‘Hmm chant, suicide, revenge and murder just the perfect thing to get you going on a Saturday night’. Yet, Dan and Pip manage to draw you in, educate you on reality while simultaneously giving you a bloody good time, after all that’s what a gig’s all about right? ‘Angles’ sees Pip whip through not one, not two, but three costume changes keeping us entertained as he delves into the darkest track from their début with a genuine sense of poignancy, embracing each word as if it were his own personal experience, not just any old album track.

With the set half way through the guys use of band, crowd interaction is outstanding as Pip embraces the crowd as if on a first name basis. The result? Leaving us nothing short of putty in their hands. Keeping up the crowd rapport, Pip asks us with a half grin ‘Do any of you guys listen to UK Hip Hop?’ while launching into the funniest, wittiest and quite frankly honest attack on the UK Hip Hop scene to date.‘Fixed’, a clever re-working of Dizzie’s ‘Fix Up Look Sharp’ provides a communal nod of approval from the audience as they, like the band seem to tire of Hip hop’s constant wishes of dropping the proverbial ‘lyrical bombs’ on our asses. On a high, a mass of communal euphoria erupts as Le Sac drops the beat to the familiar sound of ‘Thou Shall Always Kill’. Leaving any still member in the audience trampled and quite rightly so!

A Dan le Sac vs Scroobious Pip gig is so much more than your average run of the mill generic gig, the bands use of theatrics, comedy and spoken word or as Pip aptly puts it himself ‘unspoken word poetry open heat floetry’ provides a show well worth more than the humble ten pound asking price. Drawing to a close, the crowd will not loosen its grip, and with the familiar ‘ONE MORE TUNE’ chant a sweaty but willing Le Sac and Pip emerge back on stage to provide a sexed up, fast paced version of Prince’s ‘Cream’ followed by a racy cover of Sugababes’ ‘Push The Button’.

Exiting the gig, a flow of adoration seems to emerge from the lips of every punter. For some this is their first Le Sac vs Pip gig others it’s simply a re-visit coupled with met expectations.
Quoting a line from the witty pop culture piece ‘Thou Shalt’: ‘Thou shalt not use poetry, art or music to get into girls pants. Use it to get into their heads.’ Mission Complete.