Azari & III celebrate Converse Gigs’ first birthday at the 100 Club

Headlining Converse Gigs at 100 Club’s first birthday last night were the strange but wonderful Canadian Electro-House quartet Azari & III, who turned the crowd into rave congregation, body shaking to their irresistible beats.

Their performance kicked off with the euphoric, pumping, prolonged version of Manhooker with half of the group barely visible on stage due to the blinding blue LEDs beaming across into the crowd who had already begun to rhythmically lurch to the throwback sounds of the 80s. The second half of Azari & III smashed onto the stage with huge energy, and from that point forth you know that this was not a “sit back and relax” kind of concert. Fritz Helder was sporting a pair of tight leggings that didn’t leave enough for the imagination, while Starving But Full (yes, that’s his stage name) donned a Power-Ranger morphed hockey mask, which affirmed the unrelenting craziness of this dance ensemble.

Azari & III’s music is undeniably good live, and in a whole different league to its studio sound. For an Electro-House genre of music with roots of underground raves, bringing it to a huge sound system in a sweaty club coupled with an enthused crowd truly brings out the real brilliance of their music. The group played a set on tracks from their new album including Hungry for the Power, Reckless (With Your Love), Manic and Indigo, demonstrating their pulsing techno vibes that the crowd lapped up.

What really made this performance one to remember were Fritz Helder and Starving But Full’s flamboyant dancing accompanying their music. Their on-stage presence is unmatched, with seemingly choreographed dance segments, which they carried out together, adding a whole new level of delight to the concert. This echoed with the audience who went mad for the duo’s moves, enjoying it almost as much themselves.

Azari & III’s sound is tantalisingly good, but was slightly tainted by a poor sound engineering, which resulted in a deafening screeching feedback. However, it did not detract from the quality of this throwback 80s Electro-House group, who provided the driving beats along with a dynamic stage presence, making it an unforgettable performance.

Simon Franklin

For further information and future gigs visit the band’s website here.

Listen to their single Reckless (With Your Love) here: