Roots Manuva, Toddla T @ The Sage Gateshead (07.10.08)

Words: Craig Wilson

There's something endearingly old-fashioned about MC Serocee, Toddla T's rotund mic-man. He's like the fat uncle at your sister's wedding – with all the clichéd warm-up lines – "Let me hear you say whoa!"/"Make some noise Gateshead" etc.

But strangely enough it works. It's fun. Toddla T backs it all up with his mixture of dancehall, grime and old school ska beats, breaking it down with foghorns, and mixing it in with strange juxtapositions – Junior Gong threaded into the Dixie Cups glued on to Lady Saw. The crowd is going wild for it. Toddla T may be a skinny white boy from Sheffield, but this guy has worked out how to keep a crowd happy.

On the other hand Roots Manuva seems to have worked out what keeps Roots Manuva happy and it looks like it might be beer. He stumbles around the stage, and begins with the assertion that "Gateshead girls are beautiful". He then proceeds to camp it up big time with his sidekick Ricky Ranking. Roots is wearing a diamante t-shirt, and Ricky is toting a handbag, and they mirror each other's moves in a hilarious South London approximation of LA cool. It's like amateur hour at the youth club, and compared with the sheer joy and pleasure of Toddla T's set, left me feeling that Roots and Ranking were just going through the motions. Beginning the set with Again And Again, his biggest hit, meant that it was all downhill from there.