It’s been five years since Fun Lovin’ Criminals have been out on the road, oozing their super-coolness with an eclectic combination of hip hop, rock, funk, blues and jazz. With four previous top 10 albums, the recent release of their sixth studio album, “Classic Fantastic” coincides with this UK tour.

The trio amble on stage to chants of “Huey, Huey” from the Bristol crowd, paying homage to media darling Huey Morgan, the vocalist/guitarist who all the girls love and many boys would like to be. Along with Brian “Fast” Leiser, multi-instrumentalist, and drummer Mark “Frank the Rhythm Man” Reid, the party starts with “Jimi Choo” and “Classic Fantastic” from the aforementioned album.

Prior to tonight’s show I had heard nothing from the latest recording, although reviews lead me to believe it is neither classic nor fantastic. To be honest I’ve paid little attention to FLC since the heady heights of “Come Find Yourself” and “100% Colombian” released 14 and 12 years ago respectively, but the majority of other tunes played tonight certainly seem to match those from their heyday. A monumental 25 track set list includes material from the later albums “Livin’ in the City”, “Welcome to Poppy’s” and “Loco”.

Continuing with tracks such as “Too Hot”, “City Boy”, “Mars” and the first sing-along of the evening “Smoke ‘Em”, it’s not hard to see why FLC were one of the most definitive bands of the 90s. Although a commercial flop in the US, they always seemed to understand and tap into a uniquely European, and especially British, sense of humour. And still today, whilst their beloved New York City may not totally “get” them, a Bristol crowd certainly does.

Mid-set brings us amongst others, “King of New York”, “Korean Bodega” and the earlier than anticipated but eagerly received “Scooby Snacks”. For anybody thinking the show had peaked too soon, the band plough on with “Dickholder”, “Coney Island Girl”, “10th Street” and “I Can’t Get With That”, retaining the house throughout.

By now, those paying attention to him, have to be in awe of Brian “Fast” Leiser, who when not playing bass can be seen playing the keyboard with one hand, holding a trumpet to his lips with the other, and playing bass pedals with his foot. Impressive to watch, he is without doubt a superbly talented musician.

Fast and Leicester-born drummer “Uncle Frank” provide an audience pleasing rap during “We, the 3”, and the down tempo Barry White tribute song, “Love Unlimited” is another massive sing-along for the very close to sell-out Bristolian crowd. Finishing with “Will I Be Ready”, Huey suggests the band will be back sooner than another five years, specifically at festivals throughout the summer.

After a standard few minutes of chanting, clapping and stamping of feet, FLC return to stage, with a telephone skit featuring “Mike Strutter”, Paul Kaye’s outrageous MTV character. All three band members are seen to converse with Strutter to mildly amusing effect, and just for an embarrassing moment the FLC cool is gone. Thankfully, it returns for the acoustic “Live Have Love” with Frank featuring on second guitar.

Completing a wholly entertaining set with “The Fun Lovin’ Criminal”, New York’s finest exponents leave as “schmoovely” as they had arrived.

Review & Photography: Steve Johnston