The Streets
3Olympia Theatre, Dublin
★★★★☆
Twenty years ago he was a pioneer of UK garage thanks to a forward-thinking debut album, Original Pirate Material, and hailed as an artist who celebrated lad, booze and drug culture while simultaneously parading his vulnerabilities.
More than two decades later, Mike Skinner remains something of a puzzle. The Brummie musician aka The Streets sees himself as an auteur these days, recently completing his self-written, self-directed debut feature film, The Darker the Shadow, the Brighter the Light. Yet music clearly remains a pull, and there is a new album to promote, too – the soundtrack to the aforementioned film, which also acts as its narrative device.
Thankfully, on Monday night Skinner is not so concerned with the new material and not precious enough to withhold the songs that his audience wants to hear. They come thick and fast, a wham-bam of Turn the Page, Let’s Push Things Forward and Don’t Mug Yourself arriving within the first 20 minutes – aided by a tight band and an impressive lighting rig – leaving barely any time for applause between tracks.
Although Skinner admits that he “used to be terrified of audiences” after the mainstream success engendered by his second album, A Grand Don’t Come for Free, a good portion of tonight’s gig is performed from the pit, to the delight of the front row and the chagrin of those in the Olympia Theatre’s circle and upper circle, who are left fruitlessly craning their necks in a bid to see what’s happening below.
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Skinner’s droll stage banter is top-notch, but it’s not at the expense of the music
“Don’t put this on Instagram,” Skinner sardonically warns the crowd as he plays bartender and repeatedly offers shots of tequila to the throng, although not before amusingly requiring an ID check on one youthful-looking patron. To be fair, many of the audience members are young enough to favour TikTok over Instagram as their social-media platform of choice; old-school Streets fans stand shoulder to shoulder with 20-somethings who were still in nappies when Original Pirate Material was released.
In any case, there is no awkwardness or cringey moments. Skinner’s droll stage banter is top-notch, but it’s not at the expense of the music. Has It Come to This? gains a punchy thrust with the backing of the band and excellent vocalist/hype man Kevin Mark Trail. Weak Become Heroes transforms into a house-style number, bleeding into a ravey Prangin’ Out, and it’s easy to see how songs such as the gospel-infused Never Went to Church may have influenced the likes of Stormzy.
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Has It Come to This? is a highlight; Fit But You Know It brings the crowd to their feet as Skinner abruptly walks off stage, wryly telling the audience, “That was … okay.” He soon returns, promising more tequila, a mosh in the pit and another few songs – but even though the saccharine Dry Your Eyes was the song that delivered The Streets to the mainstream, it’s one of the weakest tracks in a setlist stuffed with bangers.
There may have been trepidation around Skinner – now a middle-aged dad of two – and his ability to perform songs about the trials and tribulations of youth, but he pulls it off with charisma, composure and a robust sense of humour. The tequila helps, too.
