MrZ and the Splitters at the Ringside continued Sunday 10th October By Michelle Dee and Hollie Peck

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Picture the scene, three brawny Scotsmen walking through the glen towards a steep gully, with a wee burn at the bottom. At the edge of the gully there is an electric fence put there to stop cows falling over the edge. The first two men overcome this obstacle with apparent ease. The last one does not. The last one was Mike. Instead he managed to somehow catch his foot between two of the wires and entangle the other one also.

Having lost his balance he falls and is left face down in the field receiving electric shocks every five seconds due to the live wires trapping him, and intermittently torturing him. Eventually his pals come to his rescue only to find when they try to move him they in turn receive their fare share of hair curling current. Unlucky ..!

MrZ are: Lauren 23- Vocals, songwriter Craig 23- Guitar Emma 24- Bass Chris 24- Drums Mike 32- Trombone Collin 29- Trumpet Jay 39- Saxophone www.Mr-Z.net www.bombskare.com www.skadancecraze.com

Next to take to the stage were The Splitters. Dub ska rockers from Leicester, providing a harder sounding side of ska then to that of MrZ but equally as proficient. They are another seven-piece outfit that aim to please. This is the second time they have played Hull, three years ago they played at the Welly Club re-opening night and were presented with four bottles of spirits for their efforts! The current line-up have been performing original material for three years. Their influences are The Specials and The Skatalites. These forerunners of ska are clearly heard in their own music.

The Splitters have toured England, Ireland and Belgium but they feel that they are more popular in Ireland and Europe. This is simply because the live music scene is more appreciated there, including ska. Where as in this country it had a bit of a revival a few years ago, the renewed interest was short lived. Despite this minor detail the band are still adamant to see ska take over the world.

Braidley the front man looked as though he might bite. With his 12inch red and black Mohican and tattoos up to the eyeballs, at first glance he really was a scary prospect. Our fears were unfounded and we soon realised his true nature: a performer, a showman, a comedian and an all round nice guy. Once again the brass section continued to produce melodic intervals and general helpings of toots and blasts that fill out the compositions, to give that essential ska vibe.

Unlike MrZ, The Splitters lacked a saxophonist but gained a guitarist to bring a fuller sounding rhythm. Due to the constraints of the Ringside performance space his contribution went largely unseen but not unheard. Steve and Tom, trumpet and trombone players, both sported a snazzy pair of shades creating a sense of fun right from the start. Energy flowed from these showmen, which was well received by the audience and then given back by means of dance. Even Michelle felt the need to express her delight and endeavoured to skank like a true pro. For all of you unschooled in the ways of ska, skanking is the customary form of dancing in this genre. It consists of a series of movements in which arms and legs are flailed and thrust about your immediate space in time to the music. Utterly exhausting, thoroughly enjoyable! Afterwards Michelle quoted, I had to dance, I just had to dance! This reaction obviously illustrates just how infectious ska really is.

They sung songs about work, the police and other unsavoury subjects. Babylon Racket, a song against the providers of our protection i.e. the local constabulary. They come in all guns blazing with no clue as to what they're doing, like calling a terrorist alert for a boy with a bb gun. Braidley, bravely wearing an outrageous pair of orange leopard print shoes, dedicated a song called Out On The Boiler to Hull. He sang about fat punks, fruit and numbers, the latter being called One Two Or Three. Nothing, if not subversive.

The Splitters release their third album titled Good Time Travel. It is out on the 1st November on the Do The Dog record label. They also have a video in the pipeline where they hope to work with a top director who has filmed Badly Drawn Boy. Their new single Reject The Guilt is well worth a listen! As a final word, we'd just like to say we both had a blinding night collating all the information for this review. Bands like these come few and far between. Many thanks to Nigel Holmes, for bringing them to Hull.

The Splitters are: Braidley- Vocals Ted- Vocals and Guitar Al- Guitar Jay- Bass Fez- Drums Steve- Trumpet Tom- Trombone www.splitters.co.uk

Photographs courtsey and Copyright © Clive K Lavery.

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