London Evening Standard: CHIC Featuring Nile Rodgers, HMV Forum - Review

Star survivor: Nile Rodgers played a gig that would have left a smile on the face of a gargoyle

"Ain't no party like a disco party," said Nile Rodgers here - an old line proved overwhelmingly true by a gig that would have left a smile on the face of a gargoyle. This rare coming of a legend was disappointingly short of a sellout, and a sour note was added by security insisting that many people sit down to experience the most danceable music ever created. If it's really not safe to stand upstairs, HMV Forum, make it safe.

Rodgers, the last surviving creative force behind the band, announced from the stage that he has recently beaten prostate cancer - one euphoric moment of many. A medley of hits written for other people (including Upside Down and We are Family) that he threw away as the fifth song would have been most bands' ultimate encore. By the time he got to Le Freak and Good Times the stage had been invaded by ecstatic fans.

There were airings of David Bowie's Let's Dance and Madonna's Like a Virgin, both produced by Rodgers. He gazed studiously at his guitar and shuffled his feet, maintaining his Seventies desire for the singers, today the more than able Kim Davis-Jones and Folami Ankoanda-Thompson, to be the focus. But this was no time for modesty. A songwriter of this stature shouldn't just be selling out this venue - he deserves to be filling arenas.

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http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/music/review-24008736-chic-featuring-nile-rodgers-hmv-forum---review.do