Goldie at Fu Bar

By FEDERICO MONSALVE

Goldie is one of those DJs that can live off fame alone. Just showing up, simply dropping a record on the floor and surely there'll be a crowd ready for more.

On Saturday at the celebrity-studded Fu Bar the expectation was palpable.

Perhaps it's his acting that beatified him (he has appeared in a James Bond movie and in EastEnders). Maybe his status comes from producing top-notch drum and bass through his label Metalheadz.

There is also that thing about graff art, a book, his own movie - the man is undoubtedly drum and bass' most prolific deity.

So when the compact-looking Goldie (a mix between 50 Cent and someone who'd be selling you jewellery from the boot of a Cadillac) appeared behind the mixer the rush migration of head-bobbing creatures was immediate.

There he was, in flesh and blood, and the expectant crowd seemed a bit unsure how to react.

His set started with the darker tones of technology gone amok. Multilayered percussion mixed with loungy snippets and strings: atmospheric without trying to be artsy.

The build-up into the more frenetic realms of tech-step was slow. After about an hour of rummaging through the soft elements of the acclaimed album Timeless the jungle fever got on its militant way. This was swollen and intense, manic and at points disjointed.

At his best, Goldie kept the bass pulsating so that drinks slipped off the tables and paint peeled from the walls.

Support from Presha was crucial, a perfectly timed verbal condiment to the mix.

Yet at the most feverish moments there seemed something intrinsically wrong with his timing. Whenever the crowd was at its peak, whenever there seemed to be a combustive connection between the dance and the DJ, Goldie would light a cigarette, pull the bass from under our feet, crack a smile and maintain that nervous energy D&B is so well known for.