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Stormzy, All Points East, Victoria Park, East London, 18th August 2023 – Where to start with that one!? Just back from a quick walk in the local park, well we say quick, went out early this afternoon, just got back some nine hours later, somewhere around midnight, soaked to the skin after standing, well jumping around and dancing as much as standing, with tens of thousands of others in the what was at times absolutely biblical rain that only added to one of the most joyous events in ages. Expected something interesting, kind of expected to watch on from the semi-detached sidelines and maybe drift away before the end thinking something like yeah, that was a rather good. kind of expected to find one or two of the other artistes on the rather busy bill to be worth the effort, expected the don’t-mess-with-me attitude of Ms Banks to be a highlight (she was! More later), kind of expected that Sampha and his band might live up to that growing reputation they’re earning themselves (they did). that Knucks would be good again (like he was last year at the same festival). I was kind of expecting to just stick around for Stormzy, kind of stand on the side and come home thinking yeah, that was alright. Truth be told if it hadn’t been happening in our local park, we probably wouldn’t have gone, I’d have probably told you I was a little disappointed with this year’s All Points East line up and no way was it going to get anywhere near touching the heights of Nick Cave or indeed Idles in the same East London park in 2022 and yeah, before you make some wisearse comment, yes we did blag in for free, like I said yesterday, Inter City jibbers in the house, to pay is to fail, Stormzy’s a Red, he knows the score, one of the few perks of keeping this Organ thing going for way way (way) too many years is the occasional guest list. the arm and a leg ticket price was well beyond our pockets (or indeed most of the pockets of the people I know) and yeah again, before you start cynically saying we’re only saying it was good ’cause we got in for nothing, you know we don’t operate like that! 

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So yes, the day had gone well, the vibe in the park was good, Ms Banks had more than done the business, Sampha had indeed impressed. there was a buzz in the air, people were up, that buzz you almost always get before a big headliner hits the stage at an event like this. Things were feeling good, the weather was holding, the threatened storms had stayed away, the early morning East London rain pushed away by the Summer sunshine.

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It was always going to be a mellow start, Stormzy’s clearly stated intention was always to perform 2022’s This Is What I Mean album in full, it was never going to erupt at the start, album opener and set opener tonight, Fire + Water is a beautiful song, a soulful piece of very mellow piece of soul, a minimalist down tempo reflective warmth. A brave way to kick off one of your biggest gigs ever, but he’s got this all under control and that giant beaming grin is not going to leave his face for the next two and half hours. The man is having the time of his life up there on that big hometown stage of his, he’s got this from the off. The band, his vocalists, everything is spot on and as surprising mellow and soulful as This is What I Mean was when it came out at the end of last year, it really is working brilliantly tonight in this atmosphere in front of this massive crowd and oh, this is clean, cut from different cloth. His audience are mostly word perfect, they’re on it from the start, having as much fun as he is, smiles everywhere, everyone giving everybody the space they need, everyone together. respect, laughter, fun, one big whole, no standing on the sidelines here….

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No standing on the sidelines here, the vibe is good, we’re down near the front and waiting for the Storm with everyone else, the Hackney crew behind us are having massive amounts of fun, the gang of girls next to us are excited, and you can’t help but spare a moment and a smile when you think that we’re in the self same park where that legendary Rock Against Racism gig happened some 45 years ago now – The Clash and X-Ray Spex and all that went with that historic day – there’s a beautiful mix of people here, are there more girls than boys? A more than healthy happy mix of brother and sisterly love, everyone together, everyone smiling and laughing together, singing together, dancing together, jumping together, every creed and colour, it feels beautiful down the front, strangers hugging each other, everything right and up there his grin is just getting bigger and bigger. His backing singers and their gospel feel, the great big bits that Debbie, Sampha and company are bringing to it all. He seems genuinely touched, genuinely shocked that so many people know the words, all the words, nothing fake about his emotion here. So much soul up there, a more that righteous gospel flavour, spiritual. Yes he has got his spiritual side, he doesn’t hide any of it, he doesn’t push it though, I don’t do God or religion (or watches for that matter, the kettle you’re wearing never did much for me), he’s not bothering me with any of it though, he’s real. he’s honest, he’s not pushing an agenda. And He can’t stop saying thank you, he means it, yes, I know, everyone says thank you when they do a big gig, but he really really means it, he really is moved and you can’t help but feel it for him, this is his home town, there’s faces as far back as you can see and pretty much everyone is singing, everyone is smiling, everyone.

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Did we mention the rain? it started again not long into the set, it held off all day, light rain a first, rather refreshing actually, by the time he gets to Rainfall that rain is getting rather serious, they’re up their in the all the gold colours, the bronzes, the oranges, they’re starting to get a little wet, we’re getting soaked, Give it To The Water is beautiful, Give it To The Water is a great song in anyone’s book, Debbie again, she trying to stay focused, she can’t help but let the biggest smile of the night light up the place for a second or two when the crowd sing her words back to her before she somehow focuses again. 

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Hey, this rain is getting stupidly heavy now, Stormzy’s trainers are off and in to the audience (he manages to get them back later on), feet in the puddles on the stage Big For Your Boots, he’s through the performing of the new album now, he’s pulled it off in such a stylish manner, they all have. The stage colours have changed now, tower blocks for backdrops and everything just got bigger, heavier, “London are you ready to go!?” They are! People are jumping higher, no standing on the sidelines here, this is brilliant. I’ve listened to his music before, I’ve watched him on the telly, watched him call out the government, I’ve listen to his music quite a bit ahead of this show, I wouldn’t have called myself a fan, this is not my natural territory, I wasn’t a fan, I was here to observe, I’m a fan now! What a gig.

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Way more than a gig, what an event, he said something about wanting people to remember it, that really isn’t going to be that difficult, I said no one could get anywhere neat touching Nick Cave’s performance on the same stage last year, he did! This was special, from the waiting and the stage in darkness and the almost silent anticipation at the start to the very very end two and a bit hours later in the biblical rain and the soaked to the skin unity of it all.

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He’s jumping, the place is jumping, Dave’s Clash is the business, Shut Up, Toxit Trait, everyone knows the words (besides me), there’s so much soul, the quiet songs are spiritual, the inward looking bits where it was just him up their on the runway in the heavy heavy rain. The gospel was powerful, how did that grin get even bigger than it was at the start, everyone’s happy, at least down the front, and what did happen at the end, the gig kind of came to a strange end didn’t it? The stage went dark, the music stopped, there were fireworks but he’s gone off the end of his runway, he hasn’t left, he’s somewhere in the audience, people are leaving but he’s there for an age, like he’s trying to thank everyone personally. he doesn’t want to leave, he’s there for who knows how long, just walking through the crowds, a still friendly scrum of phones taking photos, he’s shaking hands, trying to get to everyone, he’s out there for what seems like hours, most have gone now but he’s still there, he was still there when we finally left. Wow, that was something, no one is going to forget that one in a hurry, what a gig, what an event, every moment of it was special. A Stormzy triumph.  A brilliant walk in the local park. (sw) 

As always, do click on a on am image t osee the whole thing or to run the slide show