Terry Hall\u2019s trademark deadpan delivery contrasting in the best possible way with the rich vocals of Hannah Hu. Lynval Golding is a bundle of energy from the off and Horace Panter stalks the stage like a bass playing groove enforcer, making sure everyone is on point. It\u2019s a promising start, but a false one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As is the case with any \u2018heritage\u2019 act, The Specials are a victim of their own back catalogue. Their 2 Tone zenith was part of a scene that the vast majority of this audience have invested much of their personal musical heritage in. Mediocre covers of classic protest songs just don\u2019t do it, no matter how poignant the sentiment behind it. Golding\u2019s strained cover of Get Up Stand Up being a case in point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It seems to take a while for the band (which includes none other than Steve Craddock of Ocean Colour Scene) to switch into the gear Panter was looking for earlier. Nite Klub is the jump start the Rude boys and girls have been wating for and looking down to the ground floor bouncing along in mass of synchronised skanking is a sight to behold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Do the Dog\u2019 takes it up another gear, elbows are out, more \u2019Rude Boy\u2019 chants and we\u2019re straight into \u2018Too Much Too Young\u2019, \u2018Gangsters\u2019 and \u2018Monkey Man\u2019. The set is the backbone of every ska night since 1979 because the songs are timeless, not only because they make you want to get up and dance but the themes of racism, social injustice are as relevant now as they were then. Finishing the main set with Chip Taylor\u2019s \u2018Fuck All the Perfect People\u2019 seemed like the perfect full stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Do you remember the good old days before the ghost town?\u2019 Until a few weeks ago this would have struck a chord with everyone here but thankfully we\u2019re here, at an actual gig as unmistakable intro of \u2018Ghost Town\u2019 echoes around the auditorium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018You\u2019re Wandering Now\u2019 closes out the evening with Terry Hall conducting a sing along until he\u2019s happy with participation levels. He needn\u2019t worry, everyone is aboard on this drive down memory lane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Words and pictures: Calum Mackintosh<\/strong> @ayecandyphotography<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The latest incarnation of The Specials extended touring band shuffled onto the vast stage of The Usher Hall to a rapturous welcome before launching into The Staple Singers\u2019 Freedom Highway. Terry Hall\u2019s trademark deadpan delivery contrasting in the best possible way with the rich vocals of Hannah Hu. Lynval Golding is a bundle of energy from the off and Horace Panter stalks the stage like a bass playing groove enforcer, making sure everyone is on point. It\u2019s a promising start, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0},"categories":[12,5,4,8],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":613,"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48\/revisions\/613"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/re-sound.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}