Nile Rodgers and CHIC – Live Review – The Piece Hall, Halifax
By Steve Crabtree, June 2024
Everything Nile Rodgers touches turns to disco. And that’s exactly what happened to The Piece Hall, as they welcomed him and CHIC back as the latest headliner for their live music season.
Two years after first playing in Halifax, the band returned to give a full house an astounding dance and soul-infused Sunday evening.
Over the years, the influential and iconic Rodgers has had his hand in billions of pounds worth of some of the greatest songs ever made. He’s worked with the best bands and artists in the world, and released some of the most well-known dance music songs. And he was here to play a lot of it to us.
“One of the best performances at The Piece Hall this summer”
We had a lovely, sunny evening for this one, and Deco opened things up at 6.45. They came armed with their superb synth-pop music to the early entrants to the Piece Hall, and they were brilliant. Upbeat and feel-good, they got us dancing from the off. Their set list is full of fantastic tunes like ‘Photograph’, ‘Everybody Wants To Be Somebody Else’ and ‘Rain’. They’re a great band, and I think their 40 or so minutes on stage will be remembered as one of the best performances at the Piece Hall this summer.
Then it was Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s turn to shine with her Kitchen Disco. Another artist who could headline her own show at The Piece Hall, we were far from ‘Crying At The Discotheque’ when she played that one, before rolling out a number of her well-known hits. ‘Take Me Home’ was great and, of course, ‘Murder On The Dancefloor’ was excellent. That had the entire Piece Hall singing along and dancing.
She had a great patter to go with the music too, and as far as support acts go, we’d already had fantastic value for money. We were about to get a whole load more…
“Groove-filled”
I am a huge fan of Nile Rodgers and CHIC, and seeing them for the fourth time left me as blown away as ever
When the band walked onto the stage at 9 o’clock, the cheers from the 6,000 strong crowd were huge. They kicked their set off with a stomping ‘Le Freak’ before treating us to the groove-filled ‘Everybody Dance’. The Piece Hall was swaying, and not one person in the courtyard was able to stand still.
And as always, Rodgers didn’t fail to reel off the list of people he’s worked with in the past. His very own ‘Hall Of Fame’, if you like. Some may think he’s just bragging (hey, who wouldn’t brag about working with Diana Ross, Duran Duran, Pharell Williams, Daft Punk, Sister Sledge and more?), but others have mistakenly thought they’re just a covers band in the past. So, whether it’s a brag or he’s setting the record straight, or a bit of both, this guy has earned huge musical respect. We’re lucky to have him in Halifax.
“Electric evening of music”
We had medleys inbetween the songs, hearing 24 tunes in total through the night. There were tracks that Nile Rodgers had written or produced for others, such as Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’ and David Bowie’s ‘Modern Love’. And we had CHIC songs too. ‘I Want Your Love’ was immense, and my favourite CHIC song ‘My Feet Keep Dancing’ slowed things down a touch, and sounded sublime.
The hits came at us thick and fast. ‘Thinking Of You’, ‘Get Lucky’ and ‘Let’s Dance’ were just a few of many crowd favourites. And once again, the thousands of gig-goers in this brilliant place were having the time of their lives.
The night was so good, and we didn’t want the show to end. But when darkness descends on the Halifax sky, we know the show is coming over to a close. And what a way to finish. ‘Good Times’ really summed up tonight’s gig, and summed up what The Piece Hall is giving the town with these acts.
Another electric evening of music. And Nile Rodgers and CHIC had again given the town the best disco it’ll have this year.
