Dizraeli and the Small Gods

It's North Devon, desolate and almost bereft of musical culture from beyond its region, so what had we done to deserve a creative force of such delight to enter our desperate region? It's rare that I drive less than 90 minutes to see music of any calibre so to find one of Bristol's rising stars and his glorious band perform in Barnstaple is truly exceptional, but the Factory as a venue is trying hard to change these dire circumstances. The band have a strong Bristol following are known for their dazzling performances which have lit up festivals and venue halls around the country to critical acclaim rather than mainstream success and arrived in town to promote the 'Moving In The Dark' album.

The venue itself, cold and uninspiring has been improved with the mere addition of curtains, but it still lacks the vibe of other West Country haunts, our saviours rose above such banal trivialities as we knew they would. Dizraeli and the Small Gods sauntered to the stage, with a spring in their step powered by the positivity the band seem to possess and after a greeting launched into 'We Had A Song' a vivid picture of youth, growing up and what makes us who we are.

The Small Gods are a gloriously eclectic looking bunch and as a ringleader Dizraeli is perfect, oozing with confidence and more charisma in his little finger than most of us possess in our entire being. He's a difficult character to pigeon-hole; a poet, rapper, singer, comedian, curator and more, bursting with positivity, teeming with possibilities and he is kindly enough to embrace us on the journey – It doesn't matter that the venue is half empty, for Dizraeli it's motivation perform well so that its sold out next time.



The bands songs are varied and expansive in subject; 'Little Things' inspired from words spoken to him by his grandmother about not keeping thoughts and feelings inside, 'There Was A Rapper' a tale of the rise to fame and ultimate fall of a rapper, 'A Trick Of The Moon' a psychedelic mushroom induced adventure of unusual rhymes and rhythms, Then there is 'Istanbul Express' an instrumental soundscape transporting us on a journey at speed through an arid land of stall traders and chai drinkers and so it goes on. The breadth and depth of subjects Dizraeli has scrutinized in his short career shames many of his more famous American peers.

Then came the part of the show when Bellatrix dropped her double bass and showcases her world class beatbox skills. I don't think I am the only red blooded male that was melting at the sight of her beautiful form carefully bending and twisting her hands with feeling and soul upon her bass and her beat-boxing skills only make her even more enchanting. Her beat perfect rhythms could in itself easily be a show in itself if she and the band didn't have so many other abilities. It takes a good front man to re-direct our attention from Bellatrix but an intense freestyle spurned from four words offered from the audience captured us. A tirade on badger culling and an excuse for drinking cider (apples are from the tree of knowledge "so the cider makes you wiser!") was indeed an exceptional moment of spontaneity to witness.

After well over an hour Dizraeli & The Small Gods had expertly navigated their way through sadness, observations of the human condition, uplifting moments and party tunes before dropping into the most known song in their repertoire 'Never Mind' with it's hook that reminds us to joyously embrace life before it's over. Most of us would have been satisfied by now but we got treated to 'Million Miles' as a final crescendo, no need for an encore, they don't do them and there isn't any need. We had been taken on a journey of what can be done when musicians put their minds to fusing musical styles innovatively with hip hop and come out firmly on top of the pile.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.