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concert review
A review of the Beatsoup show we got to see on Sunday, .
Yesterday afternoon![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
derien and I went to see Beatsoup at Inn on the Blues in York Beach, ME. We arrived just in time to get a drink and catch the second set. By the second song we were up dancing. It took us a couple of songs to find our groove. That wasn't the bands fault. We hadn't been out dancing in quite a while and hadn't been to a ska show since there was a democrat in the white house. I swear at one point the confusion of limbs was so bad we managed to get Robin to miss a note because we were dancing right in front of her. After a couple of song we figured out which one was left and which was right and what a beat was.
The set was nearly an hour and a half long. That's an advantage of seeing Soup as a solo act or headline. When we've seen them before they were opening and that is just too limiting. They have plenty of songs to draw on for a good long show. In addition to their original material, we got to hear some covers including The Clash, The Specials, and for the reggae fans Bob Marley.
The crowd was lively and for many of the songs the little dancefloor was full. There were about a half dozen Jimmy Buffets with their SO's and some groups of middle age dancing women. There were a few kids who got up and danced with their parents, which was very cool. The crowd was notably older than you'll see in the Middle East, but they seemed to like the show despite the fact that most of them probably didn't know what ska was. That Sunday block is billed as Reggae so some people were expecting a little bit less bounce and a lot more sway.
The house at Inn on the Blues is different. The stage is near the door, kind of stuck in a corner, so there is glass stage right and a wall stage left. The front door is a couple of feet from the stage and one of the two main walkways bisects the dance floor. The ceiling is fairly low and there are tables and chairs within 6 feet of the stage. With the tables full of people talking, I'm sure this place is a sound engineers nightmare. The horns came through beautifully despite the absence of Dino, who's busy keeping the world safe for democracy. The vocals were a bit muddier than most places we've seen them, but I'm not sure much could be done about that considering the glass, wood, and humans. The drums and guitars were about where you'd want them.
As usual the band was tight. It's a joy to listen to people who not only can play their instruments, but play together.
What I want to know is, how is it that the whole band looks younger than they did the last time we saw them? Have they got some secret ska anti-aging formula? Enquiring minds want to know.
The band must have been exhausted by the end of the set, because I know we were and we were just dancing.
Go buy their records and see their shows.
Yesterday afternoon
derien and I went to see Beatsoup at Inn on the Blues in York Beach, ME. We arrived just in time to get a drink and catch the second set. By the second song we were up dancing. It took us a couple of songs to find our groove. That wasn't the bands fault. We hadn't been out dancing in quite a while and hadn't been to a ska show since there was a democrat in the white house. I swear at one point the confusion of limbs was so bad we managed to get Robin to miss a note because we were dancing right in front of her. After a couple of song we figured out which one was left and which was right and what a beat was.The set was nearly an hour and a half long. That's an advantage of seeing Soup as a solo act or headline. When we've seen them before they were opening and that is just too limiting. They have plenty of songs to draw on for a good long show. In addition to their original material, we got to hear some covers including The Clash, The Specials, and for the reggae fans Bob Marley.
The crowd was lively and for many of the songs the little dancefloor was full. There were about a half dozen Jimmy Buffets with their SO's and some groups of middle age dancing women. There were a few kids who got up and danced with their parents, which was very cool. The crowd was notably older than you'll see in the Middle East, but they seemed to like the show despite the fact that most of them probably didn't know what ska was. That Sunday block is billed as Reggae so some people were expecting a little bit less bounce and a lot more sway.
The house at Inn on the Blues is different. The stage is near the door, kind of stuck in a corner, so there is glass stage right and a wall stage left. The front door is a couple of feet from the stage and one of the two main walkways bisects the dance floor. The ceiling is fairly low and there are tables and chairs within 6 feet of the stage. With the tables full of people talking, I'm sure this place is a sound engineers nightmare. The horns came through beautifully despite the absence of Dino, who's busy keeping the world safe for democracy. The vocals were a bit muddier than most places we've seen them, but I'm not sure much could be done about that considering the glass, wood, and humans. The drums and guitars were about where you'd want them.
As usual the band was tight. It's a joy to listen to people who not only can play their instruments, but play together.
What I want to know is, how is it that the whole band looks younger than they did the last time we saw them? Have they got some secret ska anti-aging formula? Enquiring minds want to know.
The band must have been exhausted by the end of the set, because I know we were and we were just dancing.
Go buy their records and see their shows.