The audience jumps obediently to Examples hyperactive command in a high-energy gig that works best when keeping things light
Here we go! yells Elliott Gleave, aka Example, as the Newcastle masses take their cue to put their hands in the air, clamber on each others shoulders and scream along for all their worth. Theres certainly a lot to scream along with: uplifting rave synths, lots of whoah whoas and huge choruses. If the music is somewhere between Calvin Harris and 90s rave act Faithless, the man in the designer T-shirt is part personal trainer, part hyperactive Butlins Redcoat, inciting the audience into a bouncing competition one minute, and telling them to shout oh-oh! the next.
This formula has served Example very well, oiling his ascent from Fulham rapper signed to Mike Skinners The Beats label to the upper echelons of the top 40. There have been bumps even bounces along the way. Mostly, he seems to be struggling to repeat the enormous success of 2011s Playing in the Shadows, or come up with something other than bouncy soundtracks to a lads night out. His more troubled lyrics are full of unconvincing cliches about keeping enemies closer and the like, although its hard to appear dark when your stage act is a barrage of strobes.
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by Dave Simpson via Electronic music | The Guardian
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