Despite being a pretty big deal in other parts of the world, Mamas Gun remain a bit of a mystery at home.  After touring with Beverley Knight at the end of last year, then touring Japan (where they’ve had a no.1 single) they embarked on their first ‘headline’ UK tour, the 3rd stop of which was the cosy Latest Music Bar in Brighton.

People I spoke to seemed genuinely excited about the show, recounting tales of how they’d stumbled across and discovered, usually by accident, Mamas Gun.

When MG began they did what they do best, pumping out funky funky sounds – the band rocking as if they were James Brown’s rhythm section.  There is a certain infectious fun about Mamas Gun; Finger On It and You Are The Music had people jerking around and after a few songs it had turned into a little bit of a Friday night party.   Pots of Gold, even led to the seemingly impromptu serenading of a rather smitten lady up front.

At times during the set they seemed unstoppable, even teasing with a few bars of  Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On.  It would be nice to see them finish it off though…, or maybe throw in a covers or mash-up Big Betty with a bit of reggae to give the shows a little something extra.  They’re pretty darn good just the way they are though.

They were playing with a real belief, a belief that seem to withdraw when they left the stage after the main set.  The door swung back open almost instantaneously for the encore as if they didn’t realise how well they were received by Brighton; they could have stayed behind another five minutes and Manchester Street would have kept rocking for an encore.

During the journey back Saturday (after seeing Brighton smack Tranmere 3-0) I started reflecting… if it wasn’t for being broke the night I saw Laura Izibor which led to me passing on the pub and getting to the show early, Mamas Gun would still be an unknown.   It’s scary, and the uncomfortable truth is that if the British music industry and radio stations have snubbed Mamas Gun for the likes of N-Dubz and Calvin Harris, there’s probably a plethora of A-Class acts being rejected to shores faraway…  I wonder what’s on the radio in Japan this morning?

Soulside Funk

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