Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip
The Mercury Lounge
September 26, 2008
British DJ Dan Le Sac took the stage at Mercury Lounge Friday night looking more like a roadie than a feature act with his fluorescent orange underwear hanging out of his pants. As the beats began, his partner, rapper Scroobius Pip, walked onstage in a thiftstore suit and a trucker hat appearing like a traveling religious practitioner with a beat-up briefcase in hand. Without question, the look was odd but the socially relevant music was original and inspiring. The pair have a terrific chemistry and won over the club with a charismatic performance that came off loose and fun to watch. They passed the microphone off stage to the audience early in the show to sing along with the chorus of “The Beat That My Heart Skipped†and their interactions with the audience continued through the set. The only comparison that comes to mind is that of fellow Englishmen The Streets but Dan and Scroobius have an off-beat sense of humility and humor that make their live show stand out. They performed a number of tracks off their new album Angles in their hour long set such as the title track “Angles†and “Look for the Woman.†The band stopped in the middle of the set to perform their encore because as the early show they weren’t going to have time at the end and let loose with an interesting twist on The Specials classic “Nite Klub.â€
