GoGo Penguin Live; Mercury Rising (And Rising)
Published
Within the beautiful Union Chapel, GoGo Penguin put on a show as majestic as the venue in which it was taking place.
Following last year’s Mercury Music Award nomination for their excellent – if not rather obscure – second album, 'v2.0', the Manchester Jazz-trio have found themselves bathed in the limelight. The stigma that surrounds the ‘token’ jazz nominee isn’t usually too favourable, but in this instance it’s more than justified.
The three members of GoGo Penguin have supreme talent with their instruments of choice, and the way they are combined leads to the creation of a slightly rockier sound than traditional jazz.
The drumming on record is impressive, but live it’s absolutely immense. Reminiscent of These New Puritans, the flat pounding of the bass drum and scat beats on the tom toms links the piano and double bass perfectly. The energy of the music transcended to the Union Chapel audience, who were raucous with applause after every track.
A couple of new and unnamed tracks made it into the set-list and were well received, but it was the more recognisable ‘Garden Dog Barbeque’ and ‘Fort’ that drew the biggest reactions from the crowd. The staggered introductions of each number slowly built into a huge wall of noise, a developed crescendo that would be fitting for any venue from Ronnie Scott’s to the Pyramid Stage.
The appeal of GoGo Penguin seems to defy genres, with the mixed bag audience at Union Chapel reflective of this. By the time set-closer ‘Hopopono’ struck its final note, everybody was on their feet – inspired by the uncomfortable pews but sustained by the mesmeric music that was thundering around the historical setting.
GoGo Penguin’s solely instrumental approach is original, and at no point does the lack of vocals seem like it’s to the detriment of the group’s music. The only spoken words of the evening were muttered thanks in between songs, as well as a sly plug for the band’s next London gig, which is to be taking place at Camden’s Koko later in the summer. You could do a lot worse than get yourself a ticket.
To find out more about Gogo Penguinclick here. To visit the Go go Penguin Facebook page
click here. Words by Luke Forshaw
