DUB PISTOLS – CONCORDE 2, BRIGHTON 25.11.23
Be it a massive festival stage or a sweaty little grassroots venue, Dub Pistols give it their all every single time. And tonight, at Brighton’s Concorde 2 the band once again certainly fails not to disappoint, as they party as hard as Andrew WK ever did… from the opening bars of ‘Never Never’ to the closing crescendo of ‘Mucky Weekend’… in a truly memorable set.
Making sure they have time to fit everything in, the band hit the stage ten minutes early, and boy do they own that stage. The years of live action that these guys have seen means they know how to take advantage of every inch of the available space on any given night, and the impromptu choreography sees band members flitting between amps and monitors as if each and every step has been laid out in advance.
The powerful and infectious love of music that epitomises a Dub Pistols show is what makes each and every performance a crowd-pleasing experience that stamps itself onto the consciousness of everyone present… such as that moment when ‘Alive’ starts to echo through the room, and the pounding reggae beats properly kick in…
What defines the music of Dub Pistols?
Well it’s quite simply their incendiary fusion of dub, ska, hip-hop, and dark-dirty bass… a musical melange that may in some senses be tried-and-tested, but using a foodie analogy, it’s a recipe that in the right hands simply sings on your taste buds in a way that average meal simply can’t.
As the set moves on we‘re treated to ‘I’m In Love’ – which is dedicated to Terry Hall, and was originally recorded with assistance from Beats International’s Lindy Layton and UK hip hop don Rodney P on vocals… this is pure summer groove in a bottle!
To bring in a little Manchester scene action, ‘Love’ is swiftly followed by a perfect cover of New Order’s iconic ‘Blue Monday’ – the sort of song that only a band at the height of their game can imagine reimagining in such a unique way…and getting away with it.
This part of the set also brings in thanks to Barry, who has raised over £100,000 for mental health charity work, as emphasised by the next track, ‘Money Buys Money’. What some people often forget about the great bands of the world is that cover versions are totally OK… just look at how many songs The Beatles recorded that were by other artists… so when Dub Pistols throw in a couple more dancefloor killers in the shape of The Clash’s ‘Bankrobber’ and The Specials ‘Gangsters’ nobody is complaining. It’s been a rip-roaring night, and everything ends on a delightful high with an ode to the chaotic mayhem of the Dub pistols very own curated festival… ‘Mucky Weekender’. This band might have a collective age that is beyond the reach of the average pocket calculator, but they truly have the energy of a phalanx of feisty 15 year olds – and it’s definitely party time every night they hit town.
Dub Pistols setlist:
‘Into’ / ‘Never Never’
‘Problem’
‘Bad Card’
‘Alive’
‘Love’
‘Keep The Fire’
‘Rub A Dub’
‘Blue Monday’ (New Order cover)
‘Money Buys Money (Time)’
‘Moving On’
‘Gunshot’
‘Gangsters’ (Special AKA cover)
‘Pistoleros’
‘Bankrobber’ (Clash cover)
‘Medley’
‘Mucky Weekend’
