Show Review: English Beat Brings Sweaty Ska Revival to the Duck Room

Annie Zaleski

Dave Wakeling of the English Beat at the VooDoo Lounge, July 2008

For the third year in a row, Dave Wakeling brought his reconstituted English Beat line-up to St. Louis for a summer ska dance party. But unlike the shows in 2008 (with the Alarm and the Fixx) and 2009 (co-headlining with Reel Big Fish), the English Beat didn't have to share the Duck Room stage. That fact alone helped make the last night's concert the best of the band's recent visits: On the '80s nostalgia tours or ska revival shows, the band tends to highlight its most immediate, accessible hits. With a longer set time and a sold-out crowd, Wakeling and his crew played 90 minutes worth of hits, deep cuts, some General Public chestnuts and a few new songs.

When I spoke to Wakeling last year, he outlined the various strands that made up the Beat's sound. "I like anything that has a pop drive to it but also has a syncopated backbeat -- it is my favorite groove to write in. But for me, that's as much a mixture of pop, punk and reggae as it is ska. For the Beat, ska was just one in a number of influences."

In its heyday, the English Beat were always the poppiest of the British ska scenesters. The band drew as much from Motown and American soul as it did from reggae and dub, and that mixture helped it cross into pop radio in the '80s -- and has kept the sound from becoming dated. Still, the concert was mostly a nostalgia-fest for the largely over-40 crowd - there was more head-bobbing than straight skanking on the dance floor, but nearly every song was met with recognition and applause.

As in concerts past, the setlist focused heavily on the band's 1980 debut I Just Can't Stop It. There's a good reason for that: There's not a bum track on it, as evidenced by the opening song, "Rough Rider." It was one of several songs that benefited from a more relaxed approach - the ska upticks were still present, but there was no reason to rush through the song. As befitting a band that has just turned 30, the Beat let things simmer a bit. A few more early tracks followed - the famed cover of "Tears of a Clown," which featured a more rock & roll vibe, and the cautionary tale "Hands Off She's Mine."