The English Beat

“The 80’s were the best 3 years of my life” said DaveWakeling, front man for the The English Beat.  The band was in town last Tuesday night at Knuckleheads, the crunchy roadhouse biker bar and blues venue about 10 feet away from the railroad tracks in the East Bottoms of Kansas City.  Riding the wave of the Ska revival in the late 70’s and early 80’s, The English Beat put out three albums and had a string of top 40 hits in the UK before breaking up in 1983, but not before touring the US with the likes of the Police, REM, Talking Heads, and David Bowie.  A few of their songs became staples of college radio, plus you might remember the March of the Swivelheads – yes, that instrumental that accompanies Ferris Buehler as he sprints his way home through neighborhood backyards.  Wakeling is the only original member of the group these days, but he and his band mates brought their distinctive sound and energy to a packed house.  The barn-like acoustics of this roadhouse really didn’t matter.  Wakeling’s voice still shines and the quirky hooks of each song had the crowd dancing for nearly two solid hours.  His constant smile and interaction with the crowd showed he really wanted to be there.  What’s amazing is that these guys have been touring since 2003.  This after the third Ska wave in the late 90’s died out (remember the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, or No Doubt?).  Instead of a fourth wave, I’d say this band is on a wave all their own.  Those not familiar with Ska should know this genre originated in Jamaica in the mid 1950’s and started as a blend of calypso, American jazz and blues, then morphed into Reggae in the early 60’s by you know who.  The last album by The English Beat, Special Beat Service, would be a great place to start, if you don’t have it already.

Looking back, I’d say our concert attendance this year has been dismal in terms of number of shows.  “Busy with work” seems like a lame excuse when considering the great acts that came to town – BB King, Adrian Belew, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Pat Matheny come to mind.  I may have to write about shows from last year, like Steely Dan, Return to Forever, and Zappa plays Zappa.  Or maybe I’ll do the other two shows from this year, Mike Doughty and the Scissor Sisters. 

Knuckleheads

Knuckleheads -A bit tough to find, but a great live music venue in KC. 

Poncho Sanchez

Poncho Sanchez

One of my musical regrets was not going to see Tito Puente and his orchestra when he came to Kansas City in 2000.  The undisputed King of the Timbales, who also penned “oye com ova”, was 77 when he passed away later that year.  So when another Latin Jazz master was coming to town, we had to jump on it.  Poncho Sanchez and his band made a stop at Johnson County Community College this week as part of their Jazz Winterlude series.  Rather than timbales, Sanchez is Grammy winning conga player who was sideman to an assortment of jazz heavyweights until forming his own band in the mid 80’s.  His eight piece orchestra continues to crank out albums and play around the world.  His brand of Mambo, Salsa, and even Funk and Soul were dished out to a sedate crowd of music patrons at Yardley Hall.  Pancho can flat out play, plus everyone in his band is a monster – the timbale player actually made the show for me as he took every chance to show his inner Tito.  He actually sensed early on that the crowd was just a bit too composed, so he seemed to make it his mission to get people out of their seats.  He succeeded.  Most of the music they played was from the latest CD - Chano Y Dizzy, which is a tribute to the late conga master Chano Pozo who collaborated with Dizzie Gillespie in the 40’s to really kick start Latin Jazz in the United States.  Haven’t heard them all, but there are quite a few Pancho Sanchez CDs out there.  I don’t think you can go wrong with anything this man puts out.  Back to musical regrets, why didn’t we go see James Brown when he played Kansas City’s Ameristar Casino in 2006?  Remember what happened to him later that year?     

Tom

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