Festival Review: Nile Rodgers & Chic, Greenwich Summer Sounds 2023
Nile Rodgers & Chic deliver a flawless voyage through decades and genres in a London exclusive show at Greenwich's Old Royal Navy College.
There are few musicians still around today with a discography to rival that of composer, producer, guitarist and all-round hit-machine Nile Rodgers. His illustrious career has generated number one records spanning genres and decades and even at the veteran age of 70 years old, the Songwriters Hall of Famer and six-time Grammy winner shows no sign of slowing down with a run of vast run of UK and European tour dates this summer. Perhaps in anticipation of the more mature audience such an era-spanning luminary expects to draw, tonight's London exclusive date was curated as a seated-only performance. And yet for the entirety of the ninety minute showcase, scarcely a single seat is used - and not merely because an incessant, unseasonable rain shower has soaked the thousands of black chairs which line the Grand Square at Greenwich's Old Royal Navy College.
Support act MistaJam, whose energetic set of disco, house and dance anthems set the tone for the evenings entertainment, summarised the occasion well. “The harder we dance the more the rain won’t bother us” he tells the poncho-clad, umbrella-wielding early arrivals - and it seems that the message was heeded.
In truth, there was never any danger the summer rain would dampen the celebration. "Are we ready to keep this party going?" an ebullient Rodgers asks as he emerges to a rapturous welcome before launching into groundbreaking champagne disco classic Le Freak. Flanked on either side by vocalists Kimberly Davis and Audrey Martells (both electric throughout) and with a big ensemble of supporting musicians, the company Nile Rodgers keeps on stage may have changed over the years since he wrote those Chic staples but the masterful ability and effortless cool he exudes has not diminished; nor has his ability to connect his audience with his universal, hedonistic songwriting. Everybody Dance and I Want Your Love sound just as fresh and elevating live now as they have done for decades and are greeted with the same enthusiasm out here beneath the grey London sky as they are in disco's and dancehalls the world over each Saturday night.
"I'm gonna play you some of my number one hits" he announces before launching into a breathless medley of floor-fillers through the ages. Masterfully selected from an almost inexhaustible catalogue, songs produced for - or co-written with - the likes of David Bowie, Diana Ross, Daft Punk and Duran Duran all get an airing throughout the flawless setlist much to the delight of the crowd. "Those are just the D's" Rodgers jokes, his wit apparently as unwavering as his musical prowess. In one of the evenings more tender moments, a rendition of Sister Sledge's Thinking About You is dedicated to its late co-writer Bernard Edwards whilst a photo montage of the Chic co-founder plays on the stages big screen.
For all of the nostalgia and reminiscing such a showcase brings, it's worth mentioning that Nile Rodgers is still very much at the vanguard of popular music even today. "I've won six Grammys. One of them was a lifetime achievement award. I wanted to tell them to take that one back, I’m not finished yet" he says defiantly before introducing CUFF IT a song he collaborated on for Beyonce's 2022 album Renaissance. Sliding back into a Chic's native repertoire towards the latter stages of the set, the instantly recognisable guitar riff of Soup For One melds in to a rendition of Modjo's Lady, (Hear Me Tonight) whilst Good Times becomes Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight. This is an extremely well-rehearsed and polished showcase; not only a celebration of music but an education in to its dexterity and unifying appeal, delivered by one of its enduring masters.
Words by Eliot Otelli
