The Last Friends Episode maybe, the first in a new great night out in Hull, definitely! Ska Bar, The Ringside, Beverley Road, Hull. Friday 28th May Skankt Support: Catch-it Kebabs By Daniel Laney

Photograph Gallery   Skankt   Catch-it Kebabs

The Ringside may have played host to a small crowd tonight, but the performance and well being that floated through the air this evening was definitely on a large scale. I was full of cold and feeling sorry for myself, my two friends cough and snot decided they wanted to join me this evening and my god did they keep pestering me.

Yes that's right, all I wanted to do was sit around drink Lemsip and go to bed. But from somewhere deep inside, loyalty to the local music scene still managed to find the keys and drive me to this new and courageous musical treat. Last year the two-tone scene was in full swing, lots of cool Ska bands were getting notification, even new acts made their way into the limelight and showed people that its ok to have fun and have a dance with your friends.

Lets be honest, we needed it, the nu-metal genre was taking its last negative breath and people needed some bounce back in their step. Ska did that and it was well received. A year on, trousers hanging off your arse with a spiky belt, topped lovingly with a pair of Calvin's, is a trend that is everywhere. That's right folks, hardcore is in fashion and has taken the new realm in the local music scene.

Friday night however was to give the hardcore scene a run for its anti-capitalist money and shout, Don't forget about us!

First of all Ska bar when it takes off is going to be a cool place to hang out and provide a good night of entertainment on a Friday evening. The drinks are cheap, which is always a bonus and the atmosphere is extremely friendly. Lots of people showed concern for my friend's cough and snot and kept asking me Are you ok? These people were complete strangers so anywhere that has human beings that friendly deserves a visit.

Ok, enough about me feeling sorry for myself, enough about the venue, lets get down to business. First up tonight tongue in cheek Catch-It Kebabs boom straight into some Capdown stylee ska. Extremely fast and verging on being aggressive, a whole brass section, intense pianist and impressive rhythm three piece and please don't forget crazy vocalist create the soundtrack to every mood the human being will ever feel.

As mentioned Capdown have had a subconscious impact on Catch-It's style but the influence has come from other acts as well. They can do it all; aggressive ska, fun sing-a-long Goldfinger style ska, even the roots of ska get a mention and every once in a while Catch-it play homage to the dub movement. You would imagine that a smaller crowd would discourage a band of this calibre but you would be wrong.

Catch-it still give it their all and love every second doing it. You can't help drum along on the table, smile or tap your foot, but if you can, then god help you. If you were to put Lee Perry, Goldfinger, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Kingprawn, Capdown, The Beat and Madness into a blender then Catch-It Kebabs is the outcome with lots of hot sauce.

The band also boasts an impressive eleven-track album that captures the live performance and spirit, for a reasonable seven pounds, it's yours. Next time Catch-It Kebabs come to Hull please see them, it will make your night and put you into a positive and cheerful mood. When watching Skankt begin their set I feel a little more thought should have gone into this evening's line-up.

Catch-it still give it their all and love every second doing it. Now I know people will argue with me when I say that where you play on the evenings line up will determine how good you are as an artist or how good your band is. But I also know that a lot of people will also agree with me when I say Skankt should have opened for Catch-It Kebabs.

Skankt are on the bland side of things and if they were attempting to make the audience look at Ska in a different way, I know I certainly went crossed eyed. They sounded like a GCSE bands music project and then were allowed credibility by having a really, really talented saxophonist accompanying them. Even a friend of mine, who has been a Ska enthusiast since the scene began and has witnessed and appreciated all the different styles and variations, did not rate Skankt as a good band.

They may have also been a little overwhelmed by Catch-It Kebabs performance and felt they had a lot to live up to and by doing this, their performance appeared a little messy and at times they really did not want to be there. Although like I said, an extremely talented saxophonist may have made up for the rest of the bands performance.

Even though the headliners failed to deliver this evening, I didn't feel let down by tonight's spirit. I'm glad I came out because it was just what the doctor ordered. Also if Ska bar can find acts such as Catch-It Kebabs to come back to this venue, then maybe ska is not dead it is just merely having a rest and is re-lacing its DM's ready for another skank.

Check the thisisUll.com Gallery Photograph Gallery   Skankt   Catch-it Kebabs Photographs courtsey and Copyright © Mo thisisull.com

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