Reviewed onSunday May 8 (photo by Ashley Mar)
Their drum and bass touches fused with hooky pop melodies have made Rudimental notorious across the global pop and electronic scenes. However, as the hordes spill into the confines of the Hordern Pavilion on a Sunday night, the British contingent is raging and abundant. Maybe it’s by pure chance that the majority of punters this reviewer interacts with carry a strong British accent, or maybe Rudimental are a source of pride that holds dear for these expatriates.
Whatever the case, they have to wait until main support Jess Glynne has shimmied, strutted and vocally blown her set out of the water. Opening with ‘Ain’t Got Far To Go’, Glynne throws in fan favourites such her Route 94 collaboration ‘My Love’ and ‘Real Love’, which she co-released with Clean Bandit. Flanked by two backing vocalists, Glynne and her cohorts bust out some synchronised toe-tapping as they bop from left to right through ‘You Can Find Me’ and ‘Hold My Hand’, many in the room joining her in the chorus.
But all memories of Glynne – despite her voice being ten times better live than on record – are dashed when around 30 minutes later a swarm of people take to the stage almost frantically. Rudimental launch into ‘System’, taken from their latest record We The Generation, followed closely by a blasting of the hit ‘Right Here’ from their debut Home.
The set is complete with impressive vocal deliveries and hard hitting DnB breakdowns that send the crowd pogoing relentlessly. John Newman feature ‘Not Giving In’ and newer slices ‘Bloodstream’ and ‘Love Ain’t Just A Word’ all cause a ruckus, the latter of which is performed by former touring vocalist gone soloist Anne-Marie with current touring singer Tom Jules on rapping duties. There are also some extras thrown in, including a sweet cover of drum and bass anthem ‘Incredible’ (originally by M Beat featuring General Levy) and ‘Welcome To Jamrock’ of Damian Marley fame.
But it’s the culmination of a solid a capella chant of ‘Feel The Love’ that really shows off this collective’s penchant for penning off-centre pop gold. They can thrash around the stage like possessed maniacs all night long, but their talent in creating relatable, sing-along-worthy anthems can never be disputed.
