The
Allergies
@ The 100 Club
Recipe Used:
We head to London's oldest independent music venue in The Club 100 for a performance from #FriendOf5E The Allergies!
The 100 Club began in 1942, originally a Swing Club hosting many working-class people and also American GIs during WW2.
The spot is very similar to The Jazz Café in its intimacy but unlike The Jazz Café, it adorns its walls with pictures of artists gone by. I wish I could've spent time looking at them but I arrived right on time for the main performance.
I'll commentate on how the event went for me at the end, but lets say it was the hardest from a lighting perspective.
BUT! We got a solid set. So solid that I'm going to give the band their shine which I love to be able to do here. So, let's begin.
Andy
Cooper
MC/Percussion
We begin with MC Andy Cooper who was the rapping element of the performance. Whilst their music spans so many genres, The foundation of The Allergies is Hip-Hop, so it makes sense to have an MC at the helm.
James Morton
Saxophone
Next element that The Allergies traffic in is Jazz, so we get blessed with Saxophonist James Morton with great solo moments in this musical stew.
Marietta Smith
Vocalist
Next is singer Marietta Smith who also sings in her own Funk/Soul group Smith and The Honey Badgers. Great name, already a fan and haven’t spun the music yet!
DJ Moneyshot
Rackabeat
And lastly, The Allergies themselves! DJ Moneyshot & Rackabeat. A DJ duo that create soundscapes that’ll get anybody moving. My favourite moments in the show was their rendition of Marlena Shaw’s “California Soul” and finishing the show with Deee-Lite’s “Groove Is in the Heart”.
The performance was a huge success in my eyes. Everyone was having a good time. Even me whilst I was given what what was basically strobe lighting throughout.
But I’m glad I got enough to capture what the performance was like and inadvertently with enough grain to make it look like it was taken during the heyday of The 100 Club.
I would love to hit a sit-down kind of Jazz night there one day, hopefully at a table not obstructed by the big ass columns in the middle of the floor…
Charlie Taylor
chillicharlie.taylor@gmail.com
Born in Camden, North London.
Bred in Leigh-On-Sea, Essex.
Screenwriter/Podcaster/Photographer/
Hip-Hop Student.