Navigate: Home | Features | Beatboxing | Funkstyles | Hip Hop Theatre | Waacking | Calendar | About | Contact
Love street dance?
Please click the ‘like’ button to add us on Facebook
We’ll keep you up to date with the latest news and features
Review - The Boxettes at Cargo
Boxettes are the best beatboxing quintet to ever grace a microphone. A sold out showcase at Cargo in Shoreditch proved it.
Words: Dave Barros
Photos: Conan Hales
Set list stuck to the floor as a visual reminder, the Boxettes lined up for what was their main showcase in a while (for me at least). Since I first saw them at BoxCon in 2009, it's evident the girls have come a long way.
Aside from a quick warm up gig just over at Rich Mix a week before, and again at B.Supreme, the girls have developed their group a lot since I saw their last big performance.
Warming up their vocal chords with their tuning forks slipped discretely into their
bra straps, the night opened to My Mic Sounds Good. The audience reaction to the
girls walking on stage was immediate -
Smooth Journey Begins gave a taste of smooth jazz before they introduced themselves. The event was sold out, and mainly consisted of Boxettes fans, so for the hardcore it was more of a reminder of who was who.
Keeping it smooth they broke into Pack Your Bags before going for a salsa-
One of the Boxettes' flagship songs, a cover of Nina Simone's Feeling Good, got a reaction ahead of the main verse as people recognised the tune.
My Old Shoes appeared to be new material. It was a mix of disco and techno music with what I seem to recall as a carnival sound while Under Your Skin was slow, syncopated jazz guitar.
Dreams debuted some new material -
Dreams was the first song I had heard them perform that edged into house and dubstep,
and it worked really well, becoming an on-
After the jam, as the girls caught their breath, Bellatrix hinted at plans for a biannual party, hinting at doing the first one with Foreign Beggers.
Finally, as their showcase drew to an end they sung out the evening with an encore of their signature song, Hatty. It really showed how much the Boxettes have made a name for themselves as the audience sang back the chorus, and the percussion sounded incredible in Cargo's arched cavern.
Just over an hour later, that was it.
