Let me start quickly by stating: I REALLY wanted to like this show. I’m all about the classic ska, as I’ve slowly grown out of the ska-punk/skacore scene of my high school days. So when I heard that the English Beat, a 2-tone band from the early 80′s was coming around the neighborhood, I was pretty excited.
Ughh. What a disappointment.
Last night I went down to Niagara Falls, on the American side. The Hard Rock Cafe up there has been throwing a summer concert series, and the English Beat were headlining.
Well, sort of.
Here’s the thing with the Beat, if you’re not up to date on their history. Formed in 1978, the Beat released three albums and then broke up in 1983. In the early 2000′s, a wacky series of events took place, resulting in the “reunion” of two seperate “English Beats” — a UK and a US version. This basically meant that neither could, with band members split between the two versions, be the real band. So when I say I saw the English Beat, what I really saw was a cover band. Out of the six people on stage, only one, Dave Wakeling, was an original member.
So now I’m sitting out in the crowd, and I’m listening to the back-up vocalist (who seemed to be in his mid twenties or thirties) pretend like he was an original member, yelling out to us, asking us if we “remember 1980.” and the answer was, of course, no, most of us didn’t. And in fact, I don’t think he did either. All that aside, I came for a ska show, and I wanted to get my groove on. I’ll admit, there were times when they had me dancin’ hot, but a lot of the time it just came across…well, forced. Don’t misunderstand me — I’m all about the classic “hep hep heps” and “pick it ups.” I mean, when I hear phrases like those, my face lights up. But these guys seemed as if they felt they had to really show us that they were ska musicians, as if the audience didn’t believe them. it was, well, TOO ska. Every other second was another improv vocal “ska noise” (if that makes sense) and it kind of drained the mood. I felt like the ska-ness of it all was being shoved down my throat, like we (the crowd) were all newbies who had to be instructed in the art of the ska lifestyle.
I’ve never been a big fan of the Summer Concert Series concept. They seem to be more or less a list of washed-up bands looking to make a buck. I had hoped that maybe this time a real band had slipped through the cracks — that in between the obligatory Kansas, Rusted Root, and Gov’t Mule dates, a real act had accidentally been thrown in. I was fooled.
UPDATE: After a lengthy debate with a Beat fan, namely Rae Henry, I’d just like to mention that it appears as though, for whatever reason, I didn’t get a good first impression with The Beat in Niagara Falls. Taken on his word (which why wouldn’t we, we’re all friends here!) it seems that the hour long show I watched was nothing like what they usually put on, consisting of double sets that clock in around three hours. Perhaps there were restrictions on what could be played/how long they could play, etc, because it was a Summer Concert Series show. I’m always down for a second chance, and I’ll be sure to report the next time they come around. Thanks Rae!
TonyRad
pNut
