You know you've been to too many indie shows when the effective use of vocal samples is a disappointment.
Still, Plan B showing up in the middle of Labrinth's support slot to deliver his lines on their Atomic collaboration would have taken something away from the latter's appearance during the headliner's slot. It's not as if the singer-producer needed help to rock the crowd, filling more of the stage with his performance than the seven-piece Rudimental did in their opening slot.
Dubbed the Grindhouse tour for its obvious cinematic influences, the night belonged to Plan B – and rightly so. A mixture of incredible visuals, high-energy performance, costume changes and on-stage trickery left the crowd baying for more. As it was Valentine's Day, at least one banner proposed marriage.
The show was structured like the sleazy double features that played in the grimy cinemas of the 1970s the tour is named after. It's a style that suits the cinematic themes of an artist who has consistently reinvented himself with every album. The first half-hour saw the singer in fine voice and a dapper burgundy suit, crooning his way through cuts from 2010's rock/soul opera The Defamation of Strickland Banks. After a short interlude, filled by a ridiculously talented beatboxer performing themes and lines from everything from Star Wars to Transformers, the stage was reset for the urban hip-hop drama of Ill Manors.
The gritty soundtrack to Plan B's film of the same name was dramatic and unsettling, particularly during the Labrinth-backed Playing with Fire. Jets of flame shot from bins on the stage, recreating effects from the song's video which played on the large screen behind.
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