Last Thursday we went to check out Man Like Me at Jazz Cafe, if you were there you’ll know it went off, and if you weren’t you missed one of the best shows I’ve seen at Jazz Cafe for a long while.Critics might say the band channel the influences of old boys Madness a little too much, so much so that Suggs himself was down there giving it plenty from the upper balcony, perhaps proof that that Man Like Me are less ‘channeling’ Madness as they are the successors to the sound Madness made popular.
With tunes like ‘Donut’ and ‘Single Dad’ that hark back to the glory days of Garage and Grime mixing soulful hooks with cheeky cockney charm and reggae swagger, these boys are making some seriously catchy tunes that refreshingly don’t take themselves too seriously. The front man is certainly a true showman, entering the stage in a bowler hat and Burberry mac, holding a steam iron and a bowl of exotic fruit. His costume changes were swift and for all to see, maneuvering through the set and a mixture of moschino jeans, more burberry waistcoats, shirts and pearl necklaces and of course the rudementary ‘nothing but underpants’ steez before climbing and subsequently jumping from the balcony on to the stage during the encore of ‘London Town’ before piling it all back into a Lidl bag.
These lot are ones to watch I tell thee. Big up to Nick from Reprise too for inviting us down.
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