Online Review: Gym Class Heroes @ Astoria 2
Artist:
Gym Class Heroes
The Gym Class Heroes have this week completed their 10 date tour of the UK and support act Professor Green invited us down to catch the London leg of their journey, as well as have a quick backstage natter with him whilst he skins… a banana! Words by Rajveer Kathwadia
Cheque shirts, Arabic scarves, New Era caps and piercings… lots of piercings. This is what greeted me as I passed the gathering masses waiting outside London’s Astoria 2 venue to go see the Gym Class Heroes. Attire aside, the huge amount of teenage girls congregating on the Charing Cross Road made me realise that the Travis McCoy fan-club was in town, probably hoping that whilst his other half was out kissing girls, the copiously tattooed lead man might be tempted to dip his hand into the cookie jar.
Sidestepping the queue, I hurried on inside to catch up with support act Professor Green as he finished his sound check. Sitting down to speak in the cramped dressing room we try and find out what Green’s been up to besides covering his body with tattoos, “My tattoos?” He fires back whilst peeling a banana. “Have you seen Travis?” Ahh the Gym Class Heroes, so besides comparing ink, how’s the tour been going? “It’s been manic. Every other tour I’ve done we’ve had breaks in between, but we’re doing 10 straight shows and I only found out a week before that I was going! But it’s been great man. Prior to me meeting them, they already knew who I was and they were happy to have a hip hop act touring with them, cos usually they get 15 year olds with make up that scream! But I’ve never met such a down to earth band, they’ve been really welcoming, which is a rarity – people are usually c*nts!”
Hitting the road off of the back of hastily putting together an EP to finance the tour left the good Professor ‘stressed the f*ck out’ as he puts it. So how did that coupled with very little sleep help when dealing with the after-show shenanigans these music types usually get up to? “I don’t divulge in any of those sorts of things. I’m a very professional artist!” he smirks… until we remind him that we’ve seen his usual antics on Beat Stevie. “Oh sh*t I forgot about that! Well I’ve quit smoking.” Sorry what?!? Professor Green has quit smoking? “Yeah well apart from the odd draw whilst we’ve been on tour I’ve been clean for 12 months – but everyone else – we got the Gym Class Heroes f*cked up! They told me they woke up with a skunk hangover!” So it’s fair to say Pro’s been looking after his American tourmates whilst they’ve been in old Blighty. But have they been looking after him? “Travis did his thing in Louis Vuitton yesterday… didn’t buy me anything though.”
From all accounts the show put on by everyone has been amazing as well. Before we left Green to finish his fruit and entertain some friends, we asked how the other dates have gone. “They’re the best shows we’ve ever done. The fans have really been into the music and they love the rap element of it. Gym Class put on a f*cking wicked show as well. I’ve watched it every night and I’m not bored of it yet, Travis has got a lot of charisma man.” Excited by the prospect we go and find out seats and wait for proceedings to kick off.
First to hit the stage was the 19 year old Cosmo Jarvis who delighted the early birds into the venue with his witty combination of sung and spoken word. Highlights included the T4-would-love-it Mel’s Song, the Fathers For Justice friendly Problems and the hilarious Jessica Alba’s Number. As well as opening for Gym Class Heroes, Jarvis is also on tour with Australian songstress Gabriella Climi very soon, and we predict very big things for the Devonshire lad with a guitar.
Next to perform was Professor Green on his London home turf, who kicked off his set with the En Vogue sampling Don’t Let Go which also serves as the opener to his forthcoming EP; imaginatively titled The Green EP. Hyping the crowd with the radio playlisted Just Be Good To Me, Pro then moved onto another EP track in the form of Trunk Sh*t as he showcased his growth from a battle rapper to a fully fledged artist. Flanked by hypeman and long time collaborator Cores, Green initiated a call and response with the eager crowd for Problem before bringing out Haydon (he of Ultimate Kaos fame) for Big Wide World a track for the (copious) females in the audience. Despite Green’s ne clean lifestyle, it didn’t stop him from performing Stay High - his herb inspired take on Three 6 Mafia’s Stay Fly. Other Lecture #1 favourites Lick Shots and Upper Clapton Dance sandwiched a more sombre number as Green closed a highly enjoyable set.
Then it was time for the main act as a chorus of deafening screams rang out as Travis and co. took to the stage. Arriving on stage to a backdrop of what else but a quilt (their new album The Quilt was released last week) and a guy waving a GCH flag, the band jumped straight into their top five single Clothes Off. The connection between the crowd and the band – particularly Travis was something that even BT would have been proud of, as he comfortably joked and flirted with the assembled mass. GCH hardly stopped for breath as they ran through hit singles Peace Sign Up/Index Down and Queen & I, as well as album favourites Viva La White Girl and On My Own Time (Write On!). Perhaps where they let themselves down was in the fact that they didn’t leave any of their biggest hits ‘till the end as a rendition of Sam Cooke’s Cupid was immediately followed by a rocky rendition of their current top five single Cookie Jar, with still a sizeable segment of their set to go. Not that it went without incident as they not only brought out Estelle to perform their collaboration Guilty As Charged, but Travis kept everyone entertained by climbing speakers, smashing guitars, crowd surfing and even phlegming onto the stage (from our raised seatage we could see what looked like a puddle of ooze form on the woodwork!). Before we knew it the band was performing their rendition of Season For Love and it was time to go home.
Well not quite there was still time to quickly meet Professor Green and Cosmo Jarvis at the merchandise stall to buy their respective releases, before quickly hitting Oxford Street Subway to get something to eat on the journey home.
As for Gym Class and Professor Green, we hear there’s a trip to Amsterdam on the cards. “Yeah we’re going there on a day off so in between activities we might get a chance to talk about working together.” Green reveals about a potential collaboration. But what exactly does this new no-smoking Professor ‘Clean’ mean by ‘activities? “I know some good coffee shops,” he grins with his famous teeth, “Skinny latte is me!”
Gym Class Heroes’ The Quilt and Cookie Jar are out now
Professor Green’s The Green EP is out soon
gymclassheroes.com
MySpace.com/gymclassheroes
The Gym Class Heroes have this week completed their 10 date tour of the UK and support act Professor Green invited us down to catch the London leg of their journey, as well as have a quick backstage natter with him whilst he skins… a banana! Words by Rajveer Kathwadia
Cheque shirts, Arabic scarves, New Era caps and piercings… lots of piercings. This is what greeted me as I passed the gathering masses waiting outside London’s Astoria 2 venue to go see the Gym Class Heroes. Attire aside, the huge amount of teenage girls congregating on the Charing Cross Road made me realise that the Travis McCoy fan-club was in town, probably hoping that whilst his other half was out kissing girls, the copiously tattooed lead man might be tempted to dip his hand into the cookie jar.
Sidestepping the queue, I hurried on inside to catch up with support act Professor Green as he finished his sound check. Sitting down to speak in the cramped dressing room we try and find out what Green’s been up to besides covering his body with tattoos, “My tattoos?” He fires back whilst peeling a banana. “Have you seen Travis?” Ahh the Gym Class Heroes, so besides comparing ink, how’s the tour been going? “It’s been manic. Every other tour I’ve done we’ve had breaks in between, but we’re doing 10 straight shows and I only found out a week before that I was going! But it’s been great man. Prior to me meeting them, they already knew who I was and they were happy to have a hip hop act touring with them, cos usually they get 15 year olds with make up that scream! But I’ve never met such a down to earth band, they’ve been really welcoming, which is a rarity – people are usually c*nts!”
Hitting the road off of the back of hastily putting together an EP to finance the tour left the good Professor ‘stressed the f*ck out’ as he puts it. So how did that coupled with very little sleep help when dealing with the after-show shenanigans these music types usually get up to? “I don’t divulge in any of those sorts of things. I’m a very professional artist!” he smirks… until we remind him that we’ve seen his usual antics on Beat Stevie. “Oh sh*t I forgot about that! Well I’ve quit smoking.” Sorry what?!? Professor Green has quit smoking? “Yeah well apart from the odd draw whilst we’ve been on tour I’ve been clean for 12 months – but everyone else – we got the Gym Class Heroes f*cked up! They told me they woke up with a skunk hangover!” So it’s fair to say Pro’s been looking after his American tourmates whilst they’ve been in old Blighty. But have they been looking after him? “Travis did his thing in Louis Vuitton yesterday… didn’t buy me anything though.”
From all accounts the show put on by everyone has been amazing as well. Before we left Green to finish his fruit and entertain some friends, we asked how the other dates have gone. “They’re the best shows we’ve ever done. The fans have really been into the music and they love the rap element of it. Gym Class put on a f*cking wicked show as well. I’ve watched it every night and I’m not bored of it yet, Travis has got a lot of charisma man.” Excited by the prospect we go and find out seats and wait for proceedings to kick off.
First to hit the stage was the 19 year old Cosmo Jarvis who delighted the early birds into the venue with his witty combination of sung and spoken word. Highlights included the T4-would-love-it Mel’s Song, the Fathers For Justice friendly Problems and the hilarious Jessica Alba’s Number. As well as opening for Gym Class Heroes, Jarvis is also on tour with Australian songstress Gabriella Climi very soon, and we predict very big things for the Devonshire lad with a guitar.
Next to perform was Professor Green on his London home turf, who kicked off his set with the En Vogue sampling Don’t Let Go which also serves as the opener to his forthcoming EP; imaginatively titled The Green EP. Hyping the crowd with the radio playlisted Just Be Good To Me, Pro then moved onto another EP track in the form of Trunk Sh*t as he showcased his growth from a battle rapper to a fully fledged artist. Flanked by hypeman and long time collaborator Cores, Green initiated a call and response with the eager crowd for Problem before bringing out Haydon (he of Ultimate Kaos fame) for Big Wide World a track for the (copious) females in the audience. Despite Green’s ne clean lifestyle, it didn’t stop him from performing Stay High - his herb inspired take on Three 6 Mafia’s Stay Fly. Other Lecture #1 favourites Lick Shots and Upper Clapton Dance sandwiched a more sombre number as Green closed a highly enjoyable set.
Then it was time for the main act as a chorus of deafening screams rang out as Travis and co. took to the stage. Arriving on stage to a backdrop of what else but a quilt (their new album The Quilt was released last week) and a guy waving a GCH flag, the band jumped straight into their top five single Clothes Off. The connection between the crowd and the band – particularly Travis was something that even BT would have been proud of, as he comfortably joked and flirted with the assembled mass. GCH hardly stopped for breath as they ran through hit singles Peace Sign Up/Index Down and Queen & I, as well as album favourites Viva La White Girl and On My Own Time (Write On!). Perhaps where they let themselves down was in the fact that they didn’t leave any of their biggest hits ‘till the end as a rendition of Sam Cooke’s Cupid was immediately followed by a rocky rendition of their current top five single Cookie Jar, with still a sizeable segment of their set to go. Not that it went without incident as they not only brought out Estelle to perform their collaboration Guilty As Charged, but Travis kept everyone entertained by climbing speakers, smashing guitars, crowd surfing and even phlegming onto the stage (from our raised seatage we could see what looked like a puddle of ooze form on the woodwork!). Before we knew it the band was performing their rendition of Season For Love and it was time to go home.
Well not quite there was still time to quickly meet Professor Green and Cosmo Jarvis at the merchandise stall to buy their respective releases, before quickly hitting Oxford Street Subway to get something to eat on the journey home.
As for Gym Class and Professor Green, we hear there’s a trip to Amsterdam on the cards. “Yeah we’re going there on a day off so in between activities we might get a chance to talk about working together.” Green reveals about a potential collaboration. But what exactly does this new no-smoking Professor ‘Clean’ mean by ‘activities? “I know some good coffee shops,” he grins with his famous teeth, “Skinny latte is me!”
Gym Class Heroes’ The Quilt and Cookie Jar are out now
Professor Green’s The Green EP is out soon
gymclassheroes.com
MySpace.com/gymclassheroes
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