Jurassic 5 at St James Theatre

Reviewed by REBECCA BARRY

Putting your hands in the air at a hip-hop gig is not always a liberating experience, particularly if it's someone else's idea and everyone around you is doing it.

But you'd have been quite the sadsack if you hadn't participated in Jurassic 5's arm-waving frenzy on Sunday night. There's nothing like a group aerobics session as the screaming risks blowing the roof off.

The atmosphere was well rewarded. Proving two turntables and four microphones is all you need, the mathematically challenged LA hip-hop crew put on such an exciting, engaging show that it was hard not to want to be part of it.

They couldn't have asked for a better warm-up, with exhilarating sets - first from Scribe, then a duo who strapped their turntables and keyboards to their bodies and played them as though they were a rock band.

And when MCs Chali 2na, Zaakir, Akil and Marc 7 and DJs Cut Chemist and Nu-Mark did take to the stage, they arrived with minimal fanfare, sauntering on to deliver their trademark blend of rich vocal textures, dreamy dub-infused beats, fat, old-school basslines and dizzying rhymes that rely more on flow than complex wordplay.

Most of the material came from their two critically acclaimed albums Quality Control and Power in Numbers, although there were satisfying glimpses from their upcoming third LP.

But it was the delivery that stood out. These guys are polished and professional party-starters, right down to their choreographed stage positions and the way they slipped effortlessly into the next song.

Only at one point things did things go slightly awry - the turntables skipped, leaving the MCs floundering, briefly, for the beat.

Scribe provided a highlight when he joined them on stage for an impressive freestyle. But just as things got going it was over. No encore, no fuss, and maybe just a little too short. But even though they must have done it a thousand times they've obviously still got the love.