Live review: Plan B (for The Music Network & inthemix.com)

25 January 2011

by Poppy Reid

Plan B
Metro Theatre, Sydney
Monday, January 24 

If Plan B fans were told they’d be attending a soul concert from the same cockney rapper who released Who Needs Actions When You Got Words, they may have laughed in your face.

Yet, here he is, standing before us looking dapper in a silk waist coast and tie, his six-piece accompaniment seemingly having stepped straight out of the 1930s and onto the Sydney stage before a teeming (and screaming) audience. Sydney is one of two Big Day Out sideshow’s Plan B a.k.a Ben Drew will perform in support of his 2010 effort, The Defamation Of Strickland Banks.

Opening with an experimental version of Writing’s On The Wall, the Brit seemed a little stiff as he resorted to the ol’ box step and hide-behind-your-mic trick. However, by the end of a grimey version of Prayin’ where distorted guitar clouded our vision to hoax us into thinking we were at a Prodigy gig, Plan B found his soul and became his moniker, Strickland Banks.

Even his sneaker-clad, b-boy fans knew every lyric to Welcome To Hell and Love Goes Down; he threaded his rap verses sporadically through these tracks, evenly catering to the eclectic crowd.

Now matching the room's energy, Plan B seared into The Recluse, using the stage for the first time and interacting with his two spandex-garbed back up singers. It was here you had to remind yourself that the rapper and the crooner were indeed the same person; his effortless switch between roles a testament to his success.

“Who the fuck wants to hear some more?” It may have worked in East London, but this generic riling was unnecessary.

“This is gonna turn into a karaoke night,” laughed Plan B. He was right, an encore fit for a wedding turned out to be devoid of cheese and a whole lot of fun! Mixing in tracks like Lean On Me, My Girl, Stand By Me and even Seal’s Kiss From A Rose, Plan B had won us over.

Closing the night with Stay Too Long, this rapper-turned-crooner may have left the grime-hop scene behind but judging by his screaming acolytes, he has certainly proven he is talented enough to do both.