The Dutty Moonshine Big Band: Gorilla, Manchester.

Reviewer Matthew Forrest

I’ll hold my hands up from the outset. Sometimes I’ll agree to review gigs without really reading the blurb I’m sent: I suppose in many ways, it’s a like a group of swingers throwing their car keys in the bowl – you’re never quite sure what you’re going to get out of it! Cards on the table, I did this when I decided to review The Dutty Moonshine Big Band and boy was I glad I did!

The 14-piece Jazz/Grime band play everything from Jazz standards to big banging Garage tunes. In many ways, they’re like a box of Lego: plenty of different parts thrown together to create a super group: there is a 7-piece brass section, drums, guitars and vocals from Hypeman Sage, Maria Laveau and frontman Dutty Moonshine. On paper it shouldn’t work, but believe you me, it most certainly does.

Up first was DJ A Skillz who got the place bouncing with some big songs. This pretty much continued throughout  TDMBB’s set, as they played 90 minutes of sexy jazz and banging tunes. Now I don’t know too much about Jazz, and even less about Garage, but I know what I like and it’s fair to say I loved this gang. Filled with energy, wit and talented musicians at the top of their game. They had the crowd jumping from start to finish.

With a set consisting of songs from their debut album Most Wanted and new tracks from an as yet unrecorded EP, the band showed no let up from start to finish: highlights being a high octane version of the Nancy Sinatra song Bang, Bang, the blistering Boogie Woogie and a truly epic version of Take Five which show-cased just how talented this collection of musicians truly are.

For a moment in time, Gorilla in Manchester was a cross between a New Orleans Jazz club and a New York Hip-Hop club and it was pretty special. Now it’s a rare thing to get my all my mates out, what with marriage, children, work, you know grown up bollocks, but I’d happily get them all a ticket next time Dutty and his Big Band are in town because it was an absolutely great f**king night out (legal disclaimer – I won’t be buying your tickets folks, sorry!)