 Christmas
is over, it’s raining, it’s cold,
it’s dark, and the recession is still going
strong. January isn’t the happiest of months,
but what better way to beat the blues than an
evening of ska? Tonight’s roster is jammed
packed full of goodness with Reel Big Fish headlining,
and two strong support acts, Sonic Boom Six and
Big D and the Kids’ Table, who are successful
bands in their own right.
Unfortunately, the evening doesn’t start
off well, when Sonic Boom Six fail to hit the
mark. Expecting good things, and annoyed I’ve
missed the start of their set, I walk into the
Birmingham Academy to the sound of ‘Piggy
In The Middle’. The girl-guy ratio in the
ska music scene is pretty poor, so when women
show up in an act, it can really add a feminine
spark (Save Ferris and No Doubt spring to mind),
but Sb6 front woman, Laila Khan doesn’t
seem to be able to pull this off. In fact, she’s
just, well, annoying. She looks as though she
thinks she owns the show, but the uninterested
crowd think otherwise. The constant ‘whoop
whoop’s throughout the set doesn’t
help matters either, and brings me uncomfortable
reminders of S Club 7.
 Luckily, Big D and the Kids’ table come
to the rescue. I’ve been looking forward
to catching these guys live for years, so I’m
excited to see them for the first time. They put
on an outstanding show, worthy of a main act performance.
It’s hard to keep track of all the members
of the band, and they even have a couple of backing
singers dancing on a plinth. They put on a carnival
of a show, and set the room up perfectly for the
veterans of ska.
After a short break, RBF take to the stage amid
chants from the crowd, and launch straight into
what is probably their most famous track, Sell
Out. With most of their songs clocking in at around
the 3 minute mark, it’s impossible to get
bored. RBF’s energy seems unending –
even more impressive when you think that they’ve
been going for 20 years, and are well into their
30s. They keep up their wild momentum up for an
impressively long set and maintain their full
force, punchy ska for well over an hour and a
half.
I saw Reel Big Fish in the same venue last year
for the first time, and couldn’t believe
I’d been missing out on them for so many
years. This year, if it’s possible, they’re
even better. Most of the material they play is
old, but this is what the crowd crave, who have
grown up listening to them, and want an evening
of reminiscence.
 Leila Khan makes a reappearance to duet on ‘She
Has A Girlfriend Now’, and redeems herself
somewhat. It’s a really fun song, and everyone,
on and off stage, is jumping along. Other highlights
of the night include RBF’s brilliant cover
of ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ (Aaron introduces
it by calling it one of their best songs, ‘and
we didn’t even write it’), ‘Good
Time’, and one of their newer classics,
‘Monkey Man’.
The guitarist from Big D (and formerly of Suburban
Legends) makes a special appearance, dressed in
a raunchy leather outfit, complete with missing
seat… before they finish their main set
with another of their covers, A-Ha’s ‘Take
On Me’. The crowd bring them back out for
an encore though, and first we’re treated
to a demonstration of RBF’s ability to ‘master
all musical genres’. They play us all kinds
of snippets, from Country to Death Metal, before
finishing with one of their oldest and best loved
songs, ‘Beer’.
Sonic Boom Six – 2/5
Big D and the Kids’ Table – 4/5
Reel Big Fish – 5/5
Review By Helen Williams
|
