When
I got asked to cover Capdown I was so excited,
this band has always been there throughout my
early gigging days, they were a band I never really
listened to on CD (remember them?) but a band
that I thoroughly enjoyed live, they just always
seem to crop up as either a support band or at
the right place at the right time. They’re
playing at the Library in the institute which
is the smallest area of this multi room venue,
which I’m sure will make the atmosphere
tonight electric!
Anti-Vigilante are first up tonight this 4 piece
from Milton Keynes know how to warm up a crowd.
Their style of atmospheric dub/punk/ska reminds
me of King Prawn with a good mix of fast vocals
crossed with a bit of sax instrumentals. The deep
bass pounds through the room and moves everyone
with the vibrations, whilst bassist Gareth moshes
like it’s going out of fashion. The crowd
are into it but seeing as the venue wasn’t
full yet, people where standing back, so when
singer Josh asks the crowd to move forward 4 steps
I thought no chance, but tonight’s crowd
are up for it and they move forward and get into
the mood. They pull off a good set and lead the
way for the night’s second support
 The JB Conspiracy who barely fit on this small
stage with their 7 members are booming from the
start. They get right into their fun time ska
punk and whip the crowd into a frenzy. Some of
their songs remind me of Slow Gherkin, lots of
instrumental break downs that keeps building up
and building up. They have a great sound mix with
trumpets, sax and keys which make a really traditional
ska/reggae style big band, which is awesome but
at times can be quite tinny. All three vocalists
come across to make clear harmonies which echo
and bounce off each other. They slow down there
set with a bit of reggae which gives the crowd
time to relax and catch their breath before getting
the crowd swinging again. The JB conspiracy put
on a great show and everyone has a good old skank.
The night is going great and finally the wait
is over, Capdown take to the stage and bring their
unique brand of punk/thrash/ska to the stage.
The atmosphere in the room is electric, they sound
amazing, even if the sound is up to a ridiculous
volume they still sound great, with the guitars,
bass and drums all coming over amazingly well,
you can feel the music running through your body.
Everybody loves it, and the whole crowd is moving.
Normally when I say that the crowd are normally
just nodding there head as there all pressed to
the barrier, but here everyone is dancing! The
crowd of a few hundred are all in their own space
and getting down to the beats, some people are
in a pit, some people are moshing and some and
skanking, but no-one is standing still and it’s
really refreshing to see, that ska punk is still
going down well even if it’s not really
at the fore front of the scene.
 Capdown play a great set and play all their great
live songs including the sax heavy Cousin Cleotis
to Pound For The Sound and the awesome Ska Wars,
all this is wrapped up with Home Is Where The
Start Is to end this amazing night of punk, ska
and reggae with a bang. Tonight has been great
with all 3 bands proving that this type of music
is still alive, and with Capdown still officially
split up its humbling to see a band that doesn’t
care about selling albums or for fame and money
as there here, they’re playing music that
they love and as long as there happy and the crowd
is happy they’ll keep doing it. Let’s
hope they come back for another tour soon as the
world needs more bands with this attitude for
playing music for the fun of it!
Capdown 5/5
B Conspiracy 4/5
Anti-Vigilante 4/5
Review By James Daly |
