The venue for tonight?s show, the Night & Day Cafe, is a fantastic place ? tiny stage, not too expensive drinks, graffiti and stickers everywhere and an unpretentious lot of people. So far so good.
Though flying the support act banner on their own, THE SKINTS do an incredible job. This band is just phenomenal live. They?ve done the circuit so many times, they know the music back to front and they put so much energy into it; no one came away from this support act unimpressed. A shout out to the late and great Gregory Isaacs was also appreciated. It was great to see the crowd gradually loosening up, and though there were a few people who were singing along, the majority of people didn?t seem to recognise their stuff ? but it didn?t matter to The Skints, because they thrive as a support act. Without taking the spotlight too much, they still managed to make the stage theirs while being humble enough to frequently mention how excited they were to be supporting Bedouin Soundclash. With a flawless sound and a perfect stage presence, The Skints are the best ?new? live band around. [4/5]
After a short break and a trip to the bar, BEDOUIN SOUNDCLASH took to the stage. Breaking into ?Mountain Top?, the lead single from ?Light The Horizon?, it was obvious they wouldn?t disappoint. Though musically they were a little sloppy at first, there was so much energy coming off the stage it more than made up for it. This didn?t last long anyway ? a few songs in and the whole band were focused, and impossibly their absolute passion seemed to increase. Arguably the best thing to see in a live band is their joy to be performing, and Bedouin had this in spades. ?Walls Fall Down? was simply transcendent, and the more dub sounding songs including ?Living In Jungles? inspired constant motion from the crowd. The setlist was varied and interesting, mixed up with a drum solo and a fantastic cover of ?Stand By Me? which blended perfectly into the classic ?When The Night Feels My Song?, an obvious crowd pleaser. Songs like ?Money Worries? that sound mellow and relaxing on record were transformed into anthems live. Finishing with a reggae mash up for ?all the rude boys out there? of Desmond Dekker, Toots & The Maytals and Sam Cooke, Bedouin Soundclash left the stage to rapturous applause. Musically this was a gig that was always going to put people in a good mood, with its uplifting mix of reggae, ska and dub beats; what was impressive about both bands was the enthusiasm displayed on stage, and this is what made a 300 capacity venue the scene of a truly phenomenal night. [4.5/5]
JOSIE MARTIN