Scribe steals the C4 show

By REBECCA BARRY

It made for a chilly reception but the huge C4 ice sculpture in the foyer wasn't the only thing melting at the music channel's launch gig.

Hearts were, too, as Scribe worked himself into a a state, spitting out Stand Up and Not Many with arms hacking wildly at the front row, eyes on fire. His Verse 2 cohort and old friend Ladi 6 quelled the flames momentarily when she joined him for a tight but slightly off-pitch bout of lyrical chess. But Scribe never lost a beat in that flurry of words. He can rock a show indeed.

As can Elemeno P, a beer-swilling patron assured us. We'd missed their set but other than the beer drinker, it was hard to tell if they had made an impression. Everyone was too busy pretending to be Scribe.

The omnipresent goodshirt were up next, frontman Rodney Fisher showing he still gets off on wearing silly outfits. This time it was a maroon, gospel-inspired robe, enigmatically unzipped as a prelude to their feel-good hit parade and a particularly snappy new single. Couples in the mezzanine got mushy as the crowd sang along to Sophie.

They weren't joining in with Fur Patrol, though. True to their word, the band abandoned their biggest and sweetest single Lydia for a barrage of robust rock songs.

Frontwoman Julia Deans, back arched, legs splayed, ripped chunks out of her guitar with all that relentless riffage. Months of playing Aussie pubs sure make a Kiwi band sound as though they've become hooked on Spiderbait or slipped on some Midnight Oil.

Finally, as last year's Rockquest winners the Have looked on approvingly, the D4 appeared, singer/guitarist Dion Palmer making a majestic entrance atop one of the amps.

Their no-holds-barred romp through good old-fashioned rock'n'roll was as hip-thrusting and vibrant as always but, despite the pedestal entrance, they didn't treat the stage as an adventure playground as usual. Perhaps they were saving some energy for their gig across the road later that night. Those who made it got a more intimate-ear-bashing. The rest of us went straight home to watch C4.