Good Times and Green Energy: Nile Rodgers & Chic’s Sustainable Spectacle

This is an interesting proposition; can we have green concerts?

This has been a going concern for a while. How do we feed the arts with renewable energy? Coldplay have been attempting this on a large scale, but they’re Coldplay and can afford to invest in such things.

The three shows that took place in Liverpool over the weekend – from Idles, Massive Attack and Nile Rodgers & Chic (more on the latter in a sec) – were testing, operating and adapting a range of measures to dramatically reduce the level of carbon emissions and air pollution that would usually be produced at events of this scale. This involved everything from the technical set up to a meat free arena.

And closing the whole weekend was Nile Rodgers & Chic.

The last decade has been a victory lap for Rodgers. I recall him playing halfway up the bill on something nothing festival that was being broadcast on some random channel that nobody even remembers 20 years ago. It felt like a disservice to a man responsible for more hits than you have time to dance with.

Since his comeback (in commercial terms at least) with 2013’s Get Lucky, he has gone from talking head producer on BBC Four documentaries to bona fide star. We haven’t been able to get rid of him, frankly. Not that we would want to, but he’s been popping up everywhere, from Glastonbury, to X Factor and every talk show who will have him. And anyone who has seen these appearances will not only have seen the effect he has on audiences, but the sheer joy that he exudes on stage, where he belongs.

That said, perhaps he has finally reached a level of over-saturation. He’s played the city no less than five times in the last seven years, and the turn out tonight is considerably lower than when he played the same venue in 2017.

Not that anyone in attendance minded.

The current incarnation of Chic are tight and funky, and they barely let you stop for breath. Opening, incredibly, with bona fide anthem Le Freak and continuing with a trio of Chic hits – Everybody Dance, Dance Dance Dance (Yowsah Yowsah Yowsah) and I Want Your Love – was obviously only going to be the tip of the iceberg for a man whose guitar is boldly called The Hitmaker.

Just as we had caught our breath from that assault, we were treated to hits that the Chic organisation had written and produced for Diana Ross (Upside Down, I’m Coming Out), Madonna (Like a Virgin, Material Girl), Sister Sledge (We Are Family, He’s The Greatest Dancer, Lost In Music, Thinking Of You), Duran Duran (Notorious), David Bowie (Let’s Dance, Modern Love) and, of course, Get Lucky.

The only one that really fell a bit flat was CUFF IT from Beyoncé’s Reaissance. The song is fine, but it felt like the one moment some of the audience lost interest – perhaps more a reflection of demographics than anything else.

As they launched into their attack with Good Times, you have to wonder; How many hits can you squeeze into one show?

It ultimately comes down to a celebration of a great man’s work – as a songwriter, as a producer, as a band member. Even when he hasn’t written the song in question, as with Like a Virgin and Let’s Dance, there’s something of a Chic feeling to the records, a sheen that only he could bring.

It can be easy to get jaded with his omnipresence. “Oh, here he is again, with his namedropping all these hits” – but you’d be wise not. It’s pretty much the best night out money can buy, and the enthusiasm of the crowd showed it.

As for the renewable energy aspect of the night, I really wish I had anything of note to report. Truth is, I really couldn’t tell the difference, save for one major positive – the early finish.

The theory behind the 10pm curfew (with Rodgers was exiting the stage around 20 minutes before that) was to allow people time to catch public transport. As anyone who has ever gigged further than their own town centre knows, jumping the train home can be a nightmare. So not only does this allow plenty of time for that, but if you finish as early as Chic did, it potentially leaves time for a nightcap, which can only boost the local economy.

Ultimately, if I couldn’t tell the difference, then providing the shows met their promised criteria, how could this be anything but a positive? Maybe the future is here.