Gig review: Stereo MC’s at The Crescent, York

Rob Birch and Cath Coffey of Stereo MC's at The Scrcent, York. Picture: David Martin

It begins with an appreciative nodding of heads as the warm-up DJ flexes some vintage hip-hop, but by the time the Stereo MC’s mighty groove hits full stride, not a body in the room is standing still.

First and foremost, these 90s veterans retain the ability to convince even the heftiest middle-aged white bloke that they can – and should – dance.

There may be a hint of the elder Steptoe about Stereo MC’s figurehead and lead vocalist Rob Birch these days, but we’re none of us getting any younger – and very few of us have the compensation of his undiminished ability to inhabit the music and communicate it to a crowd.

If you aren’t familiar with any Stereo MC’s material since their world-conquering 90s classics Connected and Step It Up, or were even aware they were still a viable concern, no matter.

Birch may not be rivalling Kendrick Lamar for a Pulitzer prize for the complexity of his lyrics any time soon – but the fact that so many of his vocal hooks are still welded into many a brain 30-odd years on speaks volumes.

Let’s take for granted that their musical style hasn’t shifted greatly since 1992, but their mission statement was always clear – spreading good vibes on top of an irresistible steamroller of a groove built out of a love of early hip-hop and electro.

They initially suffer from the lack of a support act to prime the sold-out crowd, and it takes a couple of songs before Pressure really gets things cooking.

DJ and musical mastermind Nick ‘The Head’ Hallam is an amiable white-bearded presence behind his laptops and mixers, his loops given an extra layer of funk by a dextrous live percussionist (replacing drummer Owen If, who sadly passed away last year).

But the show belongs to singer/rapper Birch and to co-vocalist Cath Coffey – who matches him for energy every step of the way and delivers mighty vocal hooks on the likes of Elevate My Mind. The duo give a festival-sized performance to a delighted and increasingly sweaty small venue.

Birch teases the vocal riff of Connected to rapturous response – that they unleash it early in the set shows their confidence in their catalogue. They come off it into oldie On 33 from their 1989 debut, with great interplay between Birch and Coffey’s vocals.

From now on they could play pretty much anything and still keep the room dancing – never mind having a bass-heavy version of Step It Up waiting up their sleeves. A brief break to mop the sweat off sees them return with a strong run including Sketch and the irresistible Ground Level.

Called back for a final encore, 2001’s Deep Down And Dirty and 1992’s Creation send 2023’s crowd home very happy.