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Cafe de Paris, London September 11 Deep in the ritzy, basement-level splendour of Leicester Sqaure's Cafe de Paris - a venue not a little reminiscent of the set from Strictly Come Dancing I might add - the venue's occasional 'Cafe Rocks' series was kicked into life on Friday by a pulsing co-headline set from up and coming funk rockers Quarrel, who promptly announced at the start of their set they'd get the ballroom dancing - and then did exactly that. But this wasn't so much paso dobles and foxtrots as a good ol', booty-shaking get-down complete with funky basslines, catchy melodies and plenty of goodtime energy from the six musicians on stage. Opening with memorable stomper Staying In the Quarrel boys made no bones about what type of gig this would be: upbeat, funny and rampantly 'bouncy', as endlessly madcap, self-anointed 'master of ceremonies' Tab Deliminated reminded the crowd. 
The tempo was kept up with the Stevie Wonder-tinged Get Yourself Together and extraordinary disco-romp March Emporium - both of which showcased singer Michael Lawrence's gritty, soulful voicebox nicely - and the band even found time to wedge in a moment of Butlins-esque cabaret when pulling a fan on stage to claim a free t-shirt by answering a question in the 'Quarrel Quiz'. That they got away with it speaks volumes for the connection they'd already forged with Cafe crowd.The hip-grinders kept coming in the shape of El Trio de Loco - including some mean solos from guitarists Damian Nolan and Barry Dologhan - and above all with the sassy Is It Cool which, to this reviewer, appeared to be a funk song devoted entirely to a broken oven (about time concerns about culinary apparatus were melded together with progressive funk rock too). Kudos also goes to manic drummer Simon Young whose torrid pace in closer I Got My Brother drove home the point that too few bands are prepared to ask more of its audience than standing in static appreciation - if any of them didn't work up a sweat dancing to this ditty it can only have been because they were locked in the gents or dangerously dehydrated already. And if bands like this herald the return of grooving, optimistic, participatory gigs, so much the better for live music. You just know Quarrel, for one, wouldn't argue with that. | |||||
