MC Lushlife, Saturday Night Fish Fry, The Jazz Bar, Edinburgh, Mar 18

The smoky red lights gave the Jazz Bar the necessary vibe to host a jumpin' show, but between the dude passed out in the corner, and the blokes in the booth stoned out of their minds, you got the distinct feeling that the soulful hip hop swing of New York's Mc Lushlife was going unnoticed. What was a packed house dwindled, as technical difficulty made students restless and tired. Who could have thought that two turntables and a microphone could be so hard to figure out? The crap sound throughout made Lush's feelgood, quasi-relevant lyrics almost unintelligible. Seemingly caging himself behind the decks for no reason, the six or so tracks were mixed record to record, if at all, with no grace or flair. Not even a scratch. A 'freestyle' mash-up, combining the beats of the Beach Boys and Kanye West, was phony and boring. Spitting up lines you've written down and slapping them together randomly does not count as a freestyle. It's really hard for anyone to be both the MC and the DJ and Lush was unable to find the presence to captivate the crowd. The man's talent lies in his production, and as that got lost in the mix, the crowd got lost in their drinks. [Lee Boyes]