The English Beat Nov 8th LV

[DJ Phoenix]

Hey gang, just got finished seeing the English Beat, what a fantastic band, they sounded great. Dave was in rare, and witty form. They did all the usual suspects, and a few I haven't heard in a bit. They didn't do "Never you done that"(my second favorite, w"Mirror in the bathroom being my favorite), but that's ok. Great show, quiet little room(holds about 400 or so I would guess), they played a small little club called "The Canyon Club", inside the Four Queens hotel.

It was between the English Beat & the Fixx, and I think I chose the right one. While I love the Fixx, the English Beat almost never tours, at least not Vegas, and the Fixx is here quite often. Plus, for $10 bucks, I couldn't go wrong.

"Keepin the '80s alive!"

[bigwavedave]

Thanks for the review! I am going to pick up tix for the 12/4 Seattle show.

[bigwavedave]

English Beat, along with The Squeeze, have been on my top two "must see" bands list for many years. Within a two month period, I got to see both acts in a great Seattle club called The Showbox.

The Squeeze were great in September, and I am happy to report the 12/4 English Beat show may have even topped it. The show was a complete blast! This version of the band was even more energetic and talented than I expected them to be. As mentioned in different post above, Dave was witty and chatty...he seemed really energized over the results of the recent presidential election. At the beginning of - what else? - "Whine and Grind/Stand Down Margaret", he also mentioned that next week is the 30th anniversary of the start of Margaret Thatcher's reign in Britain, which he is still unhappy about it would seem. He also mentioned that this is the 30th anniversary of Two-Tone records!

I could litarally close my eyes and imagine I was hearing them in 1981 (which Dave mentioned was the first time they played Seattle); the sound of the band was that good. This is also the tour debut of a hot new sax player; he totally nailed that smooth fat sax sound from the ealy records.

By the third song in they had the entire place jumping with an insane version of "Twist & Crawl", which was well worth the $20 admission price alone. Other highlights included "Tears Of A Clown", "Never You Done That", "Tenderness", "I'll Take You There", "Mirror In The Bathroom" and some more obscure Beat songs that I didn't recognize (one of them sounded like "Psychedelic Rockers" which I know from the bonus disc from my "Beats Per Minute" import compilation). They also did some pretty heavy dub on a few tracks. All in all, so glad I finally got to see Dave Wakeling and crew live after all these years!

[DJ Phoenix]

Hey hey!! Great review as well. Dave seemed to have alot of energy during these shows, don't you agree? I remember him trashing Thatcher during one point, and everyone was laughing. Plus, the guy who replaced Rankin Roger was fun too, and really added to the band I thought. The rhythm section was excellent as well, and the crowd was definitely into it all night.

I wish he'd have done "Never you done that" here in Vegas, but I got "Mirror in the bathroom", quite fast too, which I totally loved. They're such a fun band, and Im glad we BOTH were able to see and enjoy the shows. Thanks for the review.[:)]

"Keepin the '80s alive!"

[drsevrin]

TBone and I are seeing them next Tuesday the 9th in Salt Lake, and I'm working on Scramjet too . . . Any other Salt Lakers going?

[bigwavedave]

Cool...I'm sure DJ Phoenix and I would dig a review of the Salt Lake show as well. Wish I lived close enough to catch them again!

Thinking back on all the tunes they played, I would add "Click Click", "Rankin Full Stop" and "Save It For Later" to my highlights list above. If you like the slow-tempo stuff (I don't particularly) they also did a nice version of "Doors Of Your Heart".

[kspencer63]

Are they coming to NYC ?

[drsevrin]

Still coming down from the show in SLC tonight. Fantastic performance as usual. TBone and I saw them in 2006 with a slightly different lineup (still no Ranking Roger, of course) but the show was great all the same. There were seven, including Dave: two guitars, a six-string bass, keyboards, sax/tamborine, backing/lead vocals, and drums. After two opening acts whose names escape me (second act was an above average ska band) they got right into a high energy show that lasted what seemed like 2 hours. The Depot in Salt Lake City is a small/medium club venue that was filled about 75% - probably 300 or so. The crowd was a good mix of old-school ska and others who just wanted a good show on a Tuesday night - but all were enthusiastic.

Wakeling slammed Maggie Thatcher and noted that Salt Lake City voted for Obama, for whatever that's worth. Here's the set list, to the best of my ability . . .
1. ?
2. Stand Down Margaret
3. Hands off She's Mine
4. Twist and Crawl
5. Tears of a Clown
6. Doors of Your Heart
7. Rough Rider
8. Two Swords
9. Can't Get Used to Losing You
10. I'll Take You There
11. Never You Done That (General Public)
12. I Confess
13. Tenderness (General Public)
14. Rankin Full Stop
15. Mirror in the Bathroom
16. ?
17. Save it or Later / Better Man (mash)
18. End of the Party (encore 1)
19. Jackpot (encore 2)

I got a decent video of I Confess that I'll try to upload later.
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[drsevrin]

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[kspencer63]

Surprised not to see "Too Nice to Talk Too" on the list.

[schwenko]

drsevrin- great pix!!!
kudos to you!

[drsevrin]

[quote][i]Originally posted by schwenko[/i]
<br>drsevrin- great pix!!!
kudos to you!
[/quote]

Thanks, schwenko! And also a thanks to the gentleman in the VIP area who helped me out with some of the shots.

[TBone]

Great pix...what a fun show. Though you mentioned it was a "mash" for "Save it or Later / Better Man," I think it's worth noting that "Better Man" is the song from Pearl Jam....now, I'm not really a PJ fan, but I must say, it blending perfectly together.

I agree, the band prior to TEB was pretty darn good. Buuuut.....Dave was in fine form last night. Really talkative and what a sense of humor! Crowd loved them and ate it up. The background singer....I forget his name, mentioned he was a huge two-tone fan, and to work with Dave was an honor. Granted, he may not be Ranking, but he held his own. I was impressed. And his toasting was exceptional.

The Beat continues....if you haven't seen them, and are a fan, you owe it to yourself to find a show in your area!

[bigwavedave]

Thanks for the Salt Lake City reviews guys...and the photos drsevrin! The background singer was not at the Seattle show last week...the base player handled most of the background vocals.

[glokstadt]

Great photos, thanks for posting them... Dave always puts on a great show, they will b playiong the High Rollers Weekender Scooter Run this March 21, 2009 in Las Vegas at the Tropicana for $20.00... and Dave will be hanging with us as well before and after the show as it's the biggest scooter rally/show in the U.S.

Info:

Music
http://www.highrollersweekend.com/2009/music/index.html

Events
http://www.highrollersweekend.com/2009/ ... index.html

Rotator and I will be there this year again!!! [:D]



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