Venue:
Islington Assembly Halls
Date: 27/09/2018
Last night l flew over to the UK for birthday celebrations with some old friends, and we went to see Dreadzone, who’ve been making music as long as we’ve known each other – kind of fitting.
I’d never seen them live before, but they put on a good show, not so much playing a set list as following the mood of the audience and diving back into songs if the reaction showed we wanted more of the same. Wonderful, indulgent dub getting my hips moving all night, even after being up for 15 hours and sat through a Ryanair flight.
The audience:
Midlife, but not all as old/older as me. A fair few ageing Two Tone fans, I thought.
I haven’t been to a proper gig for about 4 years (Moon Duo), and reading live reviews on here, I was expecting loads of cameras and people chatting. To be fair there was a bit of that, but not much and quite discreet. Mainly there was a lot of dancing and participation in the songs. A big roar went up for ‘Chase The Devil’ at the end, loads of people singing along – ‘…put on my iron shirt’
It made me think..
Towards the end they played ‘Little Britain’, one of their earlier songs (predates the TV series). The title, the heraldic musical samples and the patriotic references, whether straight or in jest, made it feel like a perfect song to play in need these Brexit-conflicted times.
Here’s that song, that didn’t seem to embed in the OP:
I think their most recent album, last year’s Dread Times, is by far their best yet.
It is indeed a cracker.
To my shame, I think of them as being a new group. Thirty years, eh? Feels like ten to me.
If that is the case, the one before it, Escapades (actually 2013 and a couple since) must be the worst, and thoroughly put me of them for once and for all, bland bland bland bland. I vowed I daren’t take a chance again on so called good reviews of them, not least as they were under exciting in the live setting last year (or the year before) at Bearded Theory.
Am totes agree.
Dread Times is a real turnaround. Give it a try.