Not sure why, but I wrote this after the show but never posted it! So get in your time machine and go back to May. Lol.

I took Cindy to see The English Beat.

This would be the second time I had seen them. I was very excited to be down front for them as the High Noon Saloon is a great down front venue. The crowd is usually pretty mellow there.

We had dinner at The Brass Ring (great food) then wandered over close to show time.

Our friend Adam from work (and the local band State Maps!) was there…

and we hung out near the front as the opener came onstage. The band was called “Something To Do” and were dressed for the part.

The pictures are from my phone. My good compact Nikon’s memory card was at home on my desk. DAMN!! So much for worthwhile pictures at this show.

As it turns out it was of no consequence as we didn’t remain down front.

“Something To Do” was very ska and quite good.  The horns were great and the band was rocking. About the middle of the second song was when the drunken leather coated dancer showed up. There is one in every crowd and usually a smile and firm body stance will go a long way, but this guy wanted to skank and despite being plenty of room, he had a way of working his way up next to me and bumping into me. I doubt he really had any concept that he was doing it, plus he likely just didn’t care who was in his swath. After several incidents I had to back out a bit. He was a confusing mess of throwing the rock horns and wooing and skanking. He kept trying to talk to the band between songs and they largely ignored him. Smart move. At one point during a particularly upbeat song another man in a red shirt off to stage left jumped forward and skanked in a polite and non-threatening way, just dancing to himself, clearly in tune with the music. Drunken leather coat dancer’s mind blew. I could just see him registering “one of my people!” and he immediately went right over to him to make a duo. He was promptly rejected by red shirt guy. So he came back to bother me.

We moved further back as a couple more drunken dancers wormed their way into the front.

“Something To Do” was a pleasant surprise and Cindy even bought their CD “Music For Fine Dining” after the show from the guitarist in the band. Also forgotten that night was my sharpie, so no signature.

By the time The English Beat came on we were near the center of the room, but the sound was good and we could see just fine. I tried to get some shots but they came out sad. I need to put a spare mem card in my show kit!

Dave Wakeling was quick to have some fun at the expense of drunken leather coated dancer, so we had some small revenge.

The show was phenomenal! I am always worried that the first time I see a band that the second time will be a let down, that maybe the first time was a fluke, but I am glad to say that this time, despite being chased out of the front, was perhaps even BETTER.

They played all the great songs, Dave was chatty, the MC guy with the huge dreads was a riot to watch and got the crowd going and was taking selfies with crowd phones. The vibe was positive and the music was fantastic.

I have my favorite English Beat songs, but when they played “Save It For Later” I swear I got goose bumps. The sound was just shy of overdrive and the horn guy was wailing! Everything peaked at that very moment. O M G.

Of course they did “Mirror In The Bathroom” and it was great but it was eclipsed by “Save It For Later” in my opinion.

Dave mentioned that they are working on a new album. I didn’t even think about it until now as I’m writing this.. and a quick Google search and… it’s for real! I just pre-ordered the signed vinyl!!!

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/theenglishbeat

My head is exploding right now. SO COOL!

Sorry my pictures were so bad. I learned a hard lesson at a great show.
P.S.   Annoying leather coated drunk guys at English Beat shows…

go home, you’re drunk!