Last year Plan B and Wretch 32 headlined at the Ibiza Rocks opening bringing British rap to the main stage and this summer, with a slight change of genre, the venue rocked out with Essex lads The Milk and cool kid Ed Sheeran.
The Milk gave an incredibly fiery performance with the four piece band not only bringing a soulful and gritty sound to the crowd but also passionately strumming their way through their tracks. Lead vocalist Rick Nunn showed off his wide vocal range throughout the gig which could be compared to that of Maroon 5's Adam Levine. With one foot on an amp and Rayban's sitting on the tip of his nose - due to all the serious head banging going down - Rick powerfully belted out track after track whilst playing his beautiful guitar supported by fellow guitarist Dan Legresley, bassist Luke Ayling and drummer Mitch Ayling.
Everywhere from the hotel balconies to the VIP terrace were ram packed with people rocking out to the guys who were giving such an energetic performance. Whether you had heard of the band before or not their bluesy riffs and infectious style was a perfect way to begin the opening party. A purple mist came from the stage as they performed their favourite tracks; 'Every time we fight', '54 46 was my number', '(All I wanted was) Danger' and 'Broke up the family'; the band even incorporated Wretch 32's single 'Traktor' and Stardust's 'Music sounds better with you'. Ending in style The Milk encouraged the crowd to get down onto the floor and jump up as they built the sound up to an electrifying level; proving the excitement had even got too much for the lead singer, Rick launched himself into the crowd to be raised up by a group of friends... So Rock'n'Roll!
Ibiza Rocks residents Doorly and Nicola Bear then took to the decks whilst the stage was prepared for Ed Sheeran's 2 hour performance. Stepping onto the stage in a black and yellow Ibiza Rocks t-shirt, wearing his signature necklace and with his acoustic guitar in hand, Ed Sheeran opened with his ballad 'Give Me Love' - which was quite a change from The Milk's explosive finish. However making a bride to be in the crowd cry as she shouted 'This is my wedding song' proved that the little ginger chap had embraced the crowd with his voice alone.
Coming to Ibiza Rocks as a solo artist with no gimmicks, no backing singers and no musicians - simply one lad and his raw talent - Ed used a looping technique as well as wordplay to create the sound of a live band on stage. Throughout his performance he interacted with the crowd referring to them as his 'gospel choir' which added a more intimate feel to the gig and at one point he even took a hat from a fan and wore it before passing it back. The diverse and madly skilled singer went on to perform his chart topping tracks 'Lego house', 'Homeless', 'The A-Team' and 'Drunk' which of course had the support of his choir who belted out the lyrics in unison; he also sang Michael Buble's rendition of 'Feeling good' which silenced the audience. After each song the crowd chanted 'Sheeran, Sheeran, Sheeran' mimicking the old football chant of 'Shearer' and Ed played along encouraging the encore by blacking out the stage as if he had finished, only to get the whole of the Ibiza Rocks gang to hold up their lighters or phones as he sang another Sheeran classic.
The whole evening was a mixture of high energy performances and moving moments from both acts which really kick started this seasons Ibiza Rocks gigs; and with Maverick Sabre, Labrinth, The Maccabees, Kasabian, Bloc party and many more world class acts all headlining over the summer, 2012 is set to be one of their best years yet.
Also read McRackin's review in our clubbing forums about this weeks gig...
