Magnetic Man & Katy B - Live in Leeds

Magnetic Man performed the Leeds leg of their UK tour at The Cockpit- A semi-intimate venue and a fairly modest choice from a band which are making massive overtones with their debut album. The crowd was a fairly young one, but my ears were deaf to any complainers. After all, anyone under 18 is going to have some difficulty in seeing any dubstep (or any music traditionally reserved for nightclubs), so why not give them a chance too. And anyway, they were as up for it as any crowd I've witnessed!

Support was from their friend & collaborator, Katy B, who got everyone pumped with an all too short performance of just 4 songs. New single 'Lights On' went down very well but the highlight was, of course, her smash hit, produced by Benga, 'Katy on a Mission'. Although I did find the live band performing with her, while producing a tight and interesting performance, lacking in weight compared to her studio productions.

Magnetic Man however, were anything but lacking in weight! Clearly able to get as much as possible out of the Cockpits soundsystem, Skream, Benga and Artwork must've been rocking nuclear powered laptops. The trio churned through their entire LP with full force, promoting an excited reaction from the crowd, which resembled a full on moshpit at times. The highlight for me, was the end of their perfomance. Welcoming Katy B back to the stage, she performed album filler 'Crossover' before the obvious finale of 'Perfect Stranger', an incredible piece of work and one of my favourite tracks for many years and an opportunity for myself to put the camera down for a minute and truly rock out! All in all a great gig, my only disappointment was their lack of further material to perform an extended set.