I'm starting to become a bit of a Chase & Status veteran now. Their headline set at this year's GlobalGathering last weekend was the third time that I've borne witness to the madness that they always bring. And each time, they just get bigger and better. This was by far the best set I've seen them perform so far. To find out why, and how I put my body on the line to bring you this report, head on past the jump.
The stage had been set, and the audience primed, by previous act Netsky (who delivered a fantastic set, if you're wondering), so all Chase & Status had to do was to knock it out of the park, and with the help of their MC, Rage, and a few special guests, that's exactly what they did.
After a brief intro of Gun Metal Grey from their latest album, Brand New Machine, Saul and Will followed it up with the track that also comes next on that particular record, International. And that's when things kicked right off, seldom relenting until the foursome had left the stage. Things were then cranked up even further - it might not open their sets anymore, but we all know that the gig hasn't really started until you hear the opening drums from No Problem. At this point, it would be fair to say that the crowd 'lost their minds' - the pits opened up, and if you weren't hardy enough to survive the fun in the middle, all you could do was stand on the sidelines and pray that you didn't somehow get sucked in.
The setlist contained everything that a Chase & Status fan could hope for, and spanned the vast majority of their career, with hits from all three albums present and correct. Let You Go, End Credits, Time, Machine Gun... all were present and correct, but it was nice to see some surprises from their first album, More Than A lot, make an appearance too, with seldom played tracks Take Me Away and Streetlife proving incredibly popular with the incredibly receptive crowd.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Chase & Status gig without a few special guests, and this time around, we were treated to Tempa T, who came on to give an extremely lively and rowdy performance of Hypest Hype. Also present was Louis M^tters, who led the crowd in a singalong of hit single Lost & Not Found, the lead from Saul & Will's latest effort.
Other highlights included the ever popular Count On Me, during which the nice man beside me asked if I'd like to get on his shoulders. I'll admit I initially hesitated, but after he assured me it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity, I climbed aboard. And boy am I glad I did. It's difficult to truly get a sense of scale for these things, trapped in your little pocket of crowd, facing forward the whole time. But when you're up there, with the freedom to move and look around - and anyone else who's done it can back me up on this - it's simply breathtaking. Especially at a festival, and especially during a headline set, the sheer amount of people and the view you get of proceedings at the front are mind-blowing.
...not that I'd ever condone you get on someone's shoulders, obviously. It's against rules and safety and such.
So that was great, but then it went a little bit wrong. Those pits I mentioned earlier? Well, when the crowd heard the opening strains of Eastern Jam (which received an even bigger reaction than usual as it briefly transitioned to Niggas In Paris midway through), they got a whole lot bigger. And having successfully negotiated the pits earlier, I fancied my chances. It would be fair to say I found myself out of my depth fairly quickly, and I was soon sent flying by, what I believe my friend I was with would describe as, a "brick shithouse." Thankfully I was helped up quickly, and I'd like to be able to show you a photo of my horrific flesh-wounds, but truthfully there was barely a mark on me. I tell you what, though, at the time it bloody hurt, a lot. And I bled everywhere.
Still, I suppose an injury is the sign of a great gig, and a great gig it was, as proceedings were rounded off with classic Blind Faith, and set closer Fool Yourself which saw a flurry of amazing pyrotechnics being unleashed into the night's sky. There was to be no encore here, but it didn't matter. Their job was done.
If there was one disappointment, it was perhaps that you might've expected a few more special guests, especially for a headline set. There was no Moko, no Liam Bailey - most people expected Tinie Tempah, who was playing his own headline set just a few hours later, to come on for a rendition of Hitz, but that didn't materialise either.
But ultimately, it didn't matter, because Will and Saul, together with Rage and drummer Andy Gangadeen, are a strong enough entity to be able to carry an hour and a half without any help at all. The bar was set high by Netsky and a host of other performers earlier in the day. Chase & Status simply straddled it and delivered what was their best performance I've seen yet.
The Octopus' Rating: 7.5/8
Writer, musician, and all-round top guy. I set up Excited Octopus. Currently, I'm on a one man team. It gets lonely sometimes. But I don't mind, because I love you all.
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