Concert Review: Amp Fiddler - Astoria, London - Thursday 24 October 2004

Writer: Helene Dancer

Amp Fiddler is the new definition of cool. In fact, scrap that. Ice cool. So cool in fact, that he slides up the slope of the funk-stack he has created, in the form of his solo album Waltz Of A Ghetto Fly. His music prowess as keyboardist, singer and producer has been making waves for years, leading to hook-ups with Jamiroquai, Maxwell and The Brand New Heavies. He was also worked with George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic, which gave him great inspiration to create his own special brand of Detroit soul.

And here he is in London - Joseph Amp Fiddler taking the stage in an immaculate powder blue suit that OutKast’s Dre would more than likely hanker after. Amp tops the outfit with a crisp white trilby, huge shades and a silver afro comb which he waves around the stage as he gestures to the band.

It seems that Mr Fiddler has handpicked some of the best singers and musicians to accompany him tonight. He revels in the sound they make, biding his time before he opens his own mouth and puts words to the all-consuming music. He does some great reworkings of his tracks, like a slowed-down version of Dreamin’, where he gets some reggae beats going which perfectly complement his Prince-like vocal quality. The tune was his first single off the album and still sounds as fresh as when it was first released.

The same goes for the crowd-pleasing Superficial, where the slightly-on-the-dull-side crowd starts to come alive. Amp continues to bring spice to his tunes by working in touches of classics like John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme into his set. He introduces a political edge with Edwin Starr’s War, woven into one of his many freestyle moments – this one in the middle of his ove & War tune.

The crowd also gets involved when the band strikes up Possibilities, and he makes us do the chorus, call and response style. Same goes with Soul Divine, which is super sensual and delivered with the panache only Amp can offer. The time is now ripe for a follow up album – no new material was shared tonight – so we hope he’s working his magic on something just as special as Waltz Of A Ghetto Fly. If he sticks to a similar recipe, he can’t go wrong. He has to wear that powder blue suit again too. Perhaps skip the white wifebeater underneath but hey, with that much sass, it didn’t look half bad.

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RELATED LINKS:
Discography
Genuine - record label home to Amp Fiddler
Interview and concert footage video
Concert review - Discotheque, NYC - October 2003



Buy Amp Fiddler's Waltz Of A Ghetto Fly album at Amazon UK  |  US





Buy Amp Fiddler's Love & War EP at Amazon UK



PUBLISHED: 20 November 2004

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