A taste of the South London hip-hop scene made its way to the Mile High City on Saturday night as the elder duo Pete & Bas lit up the late night at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom.
Pete & Bas, real names Peter Bowditch and Basil Bellgrave, have taken the hip-hop world by storm as two 70-year-olds who only discovered drill and grime within the last decade, yet have already amassed roughly 600,000 monthly Spotify listeners.
Since they rarely tour the U.S., their excitement to perform stateside was clear — well, mostly. At one point, they joked about wanting to Make America Great (Britain) Again, poking fun at driving on “the wrong side of the road” and insisting their king is cooler than ours. Their light-hearted jabs fit the moment perfectly, nodding to both the absurdity and tension of the current American political climate.
Their energy remained high throughout the set, full of pure joy and disbelief that they were doing something this wild on stage at their age. Still, altitude doesn’t discriminate. They did rewind a few tracks here and there to catch their breath.
The crowd’s love was contagious. They pulled several people up on stage to dance, including a bartender from Coyote Ugly they’d met earlier in the night. When she joined them, the duo casually announced an impromptu after party at the bar’s Downtown Denver location.
Whether firing off rapid-fire bars or trading jokes with the audience, Pete & Bas looked like they were savoring every second together and with the fans. Their blend of sharp humor and gritty lyrics gave them undeniable presence on the mic all night long. As they sent verses into the crowd, the crowd fired back love in the form of bras and spliffs.
To close out the night, Pete & Bas dropped their hit “Gangster Sh**,” volleying lyrics back and forth with the audience as the room’s energy peaked one final time. It was the perfect chaotic, celebratory finish to a night nobody in the building will forget.
Featured image by Angela Jaleh Karami
