Live Review: Lady Sovereign@Sonotheque 7/8/05

"Oh my god, she looks like she's 12!" That was my first reaction to seeing Lady Sovereign entering the makeshift stage at Sonotheque. I knew she was only 18 years old and barely over 5 feet tall, but oh my god did she look young up there. I had seen her press photos and, sure, she didn't look a day over 18, but all dolled up in Addidas gear, pikey jewelry and lots of make-up while drinking a big bottle of Hennessey, she looked as though she would blend right in with the likes of a Dizzee Rascal posse. In person, however, she looked more like a derelict cast member of Square Pegs. Of course, Lady Sovereign knows this and she plays it off amazingly in her brilliant self-depracating lyrics ('that girl thinks she's so big and all' But hold on I'm only 5 ft 1 !), razor sharp wit (You was born in a caravan, That don't make you ghetto...I seen more ghetto in Posh Spice's stelleto) and larger-than-life stage persona. She's not exactly Missy Elliott, but this little white girl can hold her own on stage. She started off the night with her two best known tracks, "Ch-Ching" from the US grime comp, Run the Road and "Random," her latest single. Despite seemingly blowing her wad after less than 10 minutes into her performance, she kept the audience engaged the whole night with her high intsensity delivery and grimey beats (spun by DJ Frampster). In fact, Lady Sov was so hyped up, it seemed like she didn't want to stop. She came back on for a second set after about a 10-15 break and even jumped into the DJ booth as the house lights were coming on to spin some tracks herself and sing "Random" for a third time (this time singing over the remixed instrumental). The Sonotheque staff literally had to kick her out of the booth because she was still kickin' it 10 minutes after the club was supposed to be closed. Lady Sovereign's youthful exuberance was definitely infectious and I've got to say that this night was probably the most fun I've ever had at Sonotheque. In addition to Sov's raucous performance, there were also some great grime and hip-hop DJ sets beforehand from John Herndon (Tortoise, A Grape Dope) and Biz 3's very own Ben Fasman and Damon Locks. All of this, plus the club wasn't as obnouxiously crowded as it usually is on a Friday night. UK all the way...let's keep these great grime shows coming. Technorati: Lady Sovereign