It was a Ska/Reggae night at The Palace Theatre, in Albany, NY, on a Thursday night as British Reggae band, UB40 stopped in along with The English Beat. With both bands bringing a truckload of musicians, the full sound filled the theater with deep harmonies.
First up, The English Beat, an offshoot of 80s band The Beat with original member, David Wakeling bringing in some fine Ska musicians to back him. During his short 45 minute set he ran through some songs from The Beat, such as “Twist And Crawl,” and their version of the Andy Williams song “Can’t Get Used To Losing You,” but with crowd favorites “Save It For Later” and “Mirror In The Bathroom” those who weren’t already standing got up and echoed Mirror In The Bathroom throughout the extended chorus for their finale. Not to leave out Wakeling’s other band, General Public, was also represented with song such as, “Tenderness” and their version of The Staple Singers’ “I’ll Take You There.” While Wakeling was in fine voice, he got some harmony help from Jamaican singer Antonee First Class.
After a 30 minute intermission, the members of UB40 began strolling on stage one at a time as the audience cheered heartily for each one. While most of the vocal duties were done by their new lead singer Matt Doyle, backing singer Gilly G would take over the rap duties for songs such as their classic “Red Red Wine” (written by Neil Diamond). While many of the set was dotted with R&B covers, such as The Temptations’ “The Way You Do The Things You Do” and Brenton Wood’s “Gimme Little Sign,” they all were done in the Reggae style, almost making them sound like they had always been done that way. Many of their songs over the years were covers, they were able to make them their own, including Jimmy Cliff’s “Many Rivers To Cross” and The Slickers’ “Johnny Too Bad” (which featured their percussionist Norman Hasson stepping to the front for lead vocal).
Their songs, such as “One In Ten” and “Food For Thought” were, in keeping with many reggae traditions, were political in nature. With the former being a protest of the Thatcher era unemployment rate in their home country and the latter being a plea regarding the famine in Ethiopia. Of course, not all songs are of social significance, their cover of the Elvis classic “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” brought the evening to a close as well as everyone to their feet.
For such a great show, it was shocking to see the big palace space barely half full. While I’m sure it must have been disappointing to both bands, it didn’t deter them from putting on a great show. The crowd may not have been big, but at least half of the audience stood and danced, both at their seats and the aisles, throughout both sets, only pausing during the intermission. All in all, it was a wonderful night.
Gallery:
