Drum and Bass MC turned singer songwriter The Undercover Hippy visits The Bodega...
Back to the Bodega on Pelham Street for a show I’ve been looking forward to for ages – The Undercover Hippy. With door late opening, we only had twenty minutes or so to wait for the support act to hit the stage and up stepped State of Satta.
The seven piece reggae/SKA beat band were crammed onto the small stage. Right from the off, you could tell that they simply love performing, all moving to the reggae beats with big grins on their faces.
Singer and guitarist Yotam Sigwalt was a revelation, with a strong vocal performance that sounded more mature than his years would appear, with a wonderful reggae draw to his style. The sound is smooth and seductive and you just can’t help moving to the groove. Interacting with the crowd throughout, encouraging us to dance and join in with vocal sections, the room was soon bouncing.
Emry (trumpet) and Aidan (trombone) added to the depth of their sound, the crowd feeding off this and enthusiastically joining in. Most of the set were tracks pulled from their 2022 EP We Still Move and the highlights for me were Flip the Switch (it's worth buying the EP just for this one!) and Strong as Lions.
Luke on bass had some issues with a dodgy cable and spent some time at the amp swapping cables, and found himself tied to it with a short cable that worked. Despite this, the band made light of and played off it, making it feel almost part of the experience.
For the final track, Yotam led the band members down off the stage into the crowd to play, although poor Luke stuck on the edge of the stage. The crowd were dancing, the band were smiling and it was such a shame the set had to end.
Phew, after that time for a rest….. not a chance, a very quick turn round and The Undercover Hippy (aka MC turned Singer-Songwriter Billy Rowan) is on stage tuning up and raring to go.
It’s kind of hard to slot The Undercover Hippy into any particular genre. He takes uptempo ska such as Death of Guitar Pop, a heavy reggae influence and hip hop and mixes it all together with a hard hitting political message about the state of society and politics today, with the intensity of Billy Bragg and Sleaford Mods. Bright, danceable reggae protest songs!
The latest album Poor Little England has just landed, and a fair part of the set comes from the latest release. It’s clear that Billy is frustrated with the world and also the pandemic and isolation, during which much of the new material was written, but delivered with a sense of fun.
Relaxed and easy, Billy interacted and talked with the crowd throughout, and for several of the songs Aidan and Emyr from State of Satta joined to provide the brass sections, such as on the opening tracks Poor Little England and Coming to the Gambia. Hippy Dude is a delightful and quirky song, Billy’s take on the odd Hippy Guy you meet at festivals who promises to use his skills to bring back your karma, but in reality turns out to be a bit creepy.
Both his recent singles Hey Boy and Greed made an appearance. Hey Boy is about the impact of the pandemic and hiding your face in the screen of a mobile phone, getting lost in a made-up world taking selfies and sharing them on apps such as TikTok, creating a false reality. Meanwhole, Borders is dedicated to those fleeing violence and the crowd start shouting "fuck the Tories", and the band join in, delivering a reggae anti-establishment chant!
Greed is perhaps his most politically charged track, taking aim and discharging both barrels at the pandemic and it’s impact on musicians and the industry, targeting the poor leadership. I loved the line: “When you look at New Zealand or Japan, and then you hear Boris banging on about his world beating plan. The only field we’re winning in, is Covid deaths per million." He continued: “They promise you greed is the answer, but I’m telling you that greed is the cancer”. This one has one of the funniest Spitting Image style impressions of Boris Johnson I’ve heard. Great stuff.
There is something infectious about the rhythm and everyone in the house is moving and singing along, in particular to his anthemic track Boyfriend. The basslines have a wonderful SKA influence to them.
The time just flies by and before you know it we reach the final tracks. First up is Fool Britania, a fun take on the state of the nation with lyrics that sum it up perfectly: “We’ll all be singing Rule Britannia, rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves. As we set the sails ablaze, and then sink beneath the waves, the crowd cries Fool Britannia, Fool Britannia yea." A metaphor for our relationship with Brexit perhaps?
Finally Last Chance to Dance from 2014’s album Monkey Suit, a brilliant fast intense number encouraging everyone to get up and dance like it’s your last chance to. A perfect ending.
I don’t think there’s anything quite like The Undercover Hippy... It’s truly unique, fun, and powerful, with darkly satirical lyrics in equal amounts set to a reggae beat that’s simply infectious. Set alongside State of Satta, this has been one of the THE most enjoyable shows I’ve been to in years. I can’t wait to see both again real soon.
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