When: Tuesday 24 April
Where: Royal Vauxhall Tavern
Cost: £8 (BW is normally free; door charge was due to special performance)
Despite the jet lag, extreme tiredness and huge list of jobs to be done at Planet London HQ, following a heads up from Ingo of this fabulous gig (the first in the UK and part of their first European tour fresh from Germany), we headed down to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern for Bar Wotever.
Normally a free night, tonight had a big name, so a small entry price was required. Happy to pay it we got our funky RVT wristbands and went inside to grab a seat.
The crowd was warmed up by Eva, who runs LGBT Underground with a couple of hip hop raps: 'What are you like', 'Come as you are' (about Internet dating and meeting up IRL) and 'Extra Sexual'.
Of all of her performances, Come as you are was definitely my favourite. It had a really good message to be yourself and was very catchy.
Warmed up and ready, it was now time for God Des and She!
God Des is an impressive rapper and has a good, strong presence on stage. She has stunning vocals, a very soulful voice that can belt out songs with ease and perfection. Together they look like quite an unlikely duo on stage, but they mesh really well together.
Due to trouble getting into the UK the sound check was done live on stage. This could have been dull and boring for the crowd but GDS styled out the sound check with class. They both have great stage presence and there was a good level of audience interaction as well.
During the first song, God Des and She swapped mics on several occasions. This made for interesting sound change challenges for the second song as the technicians didn't know which mic was going up and down! What originally looked like God Des trying to constantly have the loudest mic, being unable to make up her mind, soon became clear that it was actually due to needing the lead to have the loudest mic.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who initially thought God Des was being the dominant performer and seeking the most limelight, but once realised the mic swapping made a lot more sense!
We were treated to a whopping 10 songs by God Des and She including an acapella number.
Songs performed:
01. Time for Change
02. I'm a Bitch
03. Valerie (solo by She)
04. I Love you Better
05. God I Know You Love Me
06. I Want It Back
07. You Know My Name (YKMN)
08. Sister's Theme (from The Color Purple)
09. Lick It (as featured on The L Word)
10. Ew She Said That
If you haven't heard of God Des and She here is a tiny little sneak peak to whet your appetite:
The closing remarks from God Des and She have to be repeated, because they are good message by which to live your life, and words that I try and live myself every day:
Fear not if you are sitting here kicking yourself for not going to Bar Wotever to catch this amazing duo - I have good news! They are performing again tomorrow night in London. Catch them at The Candy Bar in Soho. I highly recommend you catch this act before they fly out (there was enough trouble getting through customs this time, they may not be so lucky next time!).If you don't respect yourself, no-one else will. Be out. Be proud.
If you do go, be sure to take some cash with you as they had some fab merchandise (funky t-shirts £20 and all four of their albums for £10 each). God Des and She's latest album, 'United States of God Des and She' was released in February of this year.
God Des and She is and always has been Independently queer, so it is well worth supporting them. They are truly talented - miss them and you really are missing out.
Check out God Des and She's website here.
Follow God Des and She on Twitter.
Like God Des and She on Facebook.
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