“Can you hear the horns, people?”, snarled rapper Rodney P, standing on a speaker before launching into a near-football chant with the backing of his five bandmates.
The cheery honk of a trumpet is the eternal element of Dub Pistols’ feelgood take on life’s frustrations and challenges, initially swept up in the big beat scene of the mid-1990s but branching gently into electro, ska and drum and bass ever since.
Chief rudeboy Barry Ashworth – a man perennially guaranteed to come across as Phil Daniels’ unannounced twin – has spent 20 years chasing the shadows of The Specials, enlisting Terry Hall’s services twice on one album for a cover of Gangsters and The Stranglers’ Peaches.
Following Hall’s sartorial style in suits, trainers and indoor sunglasses, the band rolled out both tonight, removing their ghostly undertones and replacing many of the nuances with the kind of carefree rowdiness which sees them remain festival fixtures year after year.
Keep The Fire Burning, with its summery saxophone and vague lyrics about staying young and drying tears, saw swathes of the crowd lofted upon shoulders, arms and cans aloft, while the squalid escapism of Mucky Weekend sounded raw and instructive. Lairy dub for a teenage mass.
Three Stars
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article