Tuesday 27 September 2011

Quick review: The Specials

I was invited to see The Specials. Lots of my favourite songs are Specials songs, so it was indeed special to be able to see this group, these heroes live once.
What can I say? A quick positive / negative comparison does this the most justice:

Positive
  • Played all the hits except "Ghost Town"
  • The sound was good
  • The singing was second to none
  • 10 people on stage
  • No local wanna-be Ska band supporting
  • Lots of dancing and partying by the entire audience
Negative
  • Terry Hall in a bad mood and not part of the encore (which was not really an encore anyway, thus growing anger in the crowd)
  • Show way too professional for me - it was almost like watching a show on Broadway - it is the band's source of income, not their means for creativity
  • Skinhead fans all have ADS and no sense of rhythm
  • No "Ghost Town", hence angry fans (although the flying beer cups could count as a positive)
  • Columbiahalle being Columbiahalle
We had a really good time, no doubt, but it wasn't like going to see your favourite band in concert. It was like going to a big event, with all the ins and outs, including brezels on sale outside after the gig (reminded me of the hot dog salesman who follows Homer around). 




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