Oh My Gosh, currently on their first live tour in 10 years, Basement Jaxx brought the carnival vibes to Dreamland Margate on Saturday night, proving again what an exceptional act they still are.
A setlist peppered with electro dance hits, they left fans wanting more though, with conversations as the crowd dispersed at the end of the night questioning whether just over an hour is long enough for a headline set?
From the moment Jaxx stepped on stage at 9pm sharp, it was a sea of colour, energy and passion as they kicked off with fan favourite Good Luck and then launched into a hit-filled setlist which included their debut single from back in 1999, Red Alert, plus Romeo, Do Your Thing, Bingo Bango and my personal favourite, Rendez-Vu.
And there’s no doubt the Dreamland crowd were up for the party, glitter face paint, sequined jumpsuits to match and samba moves on display across a packed Scenic Stage.
With a decade’s absence from the live scene this was a gig that fans had been waiting a long time for and in the build up to Jaxx set the talk around me was of memories of when you’d last seen the group back in the late noughties or early 2010s.
Then it was time for an anthemic performance of Where’s Your Head At, complete with dancing gorillas.
The hits were there, the dance moves were there, the energy was there, the vocals, as ever with Jaxx, were fantastic, but when the band left the stage at 10pm sharp most fans around me were checking their watches.
Of course they returned for the obligatory encore, but at 10.10pm it was all over, people were still returning from one of Dreamland’s many bars with fresh rounds of drinks and others were calling to change the time of their taxi.
It left many asking the question, is an hour and 10 minutes enough for a headline set, especially when the warm up DJ sets were an hour a piece?
Dreamland is fast becoming one of my favourite summer music venues, the relaxed outside vibe, the range of good street food options and the number of bars, meaning few queues, have made it a music destination.
And Basement Jaxx are still a fantastic live act, a visual spectacle, electro house legends and it was a great night out…as fans we just wanted it to go on for a bit longer!
