Dancing queen halts hip hop MUSIC The Infesticons The Arches, Glasgow

"Elvis was a hero to most but he never meant a goddamn thing to me," announced Chuck D of Public Enemy - and in doing so created one of the most memorable and expressive phrases in hip hop history. To have a philosophy is one thing but to convey it in an accessible, exciting way is another.

Sadly, the message of The Infesticons gets lost in the post somewhere between their vinyl outpourings and the stage. Initial forays are successful, with the trio of New York rappers - Rob Smith, Juice Aleem and beat poet leader of the gang, Mike Ladd - batting lyrics across the stage like verbal tennis balls, but four songs in, things begin to flag and never really recover.

Though their musical smorgasbord comes across well, and their beats are varied and crisp, the lyrical interplay becomes untidy and they seem to lose focus, lacking the verbal hooks to drag in the stragglers.

To add a surreal climax to the evening, a drunken woman staggers on stage to belt out a wobbly version of ABBA's Dancing Queen, a performance met with bemusement from the trio, unsure how to react. For all they know, Scottish people always do this at gigs.

Mark Robertson

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