Rocksteady Breakfast are holding their annual Pachanga show on Saturday, May 11th at Acadia Cafe in Mpls. The FREE, ALL AGES show is commemorating their 5th anniversary as a band. Special musical guests include MNSKA bands Umbrella Bed and Drunk History as well as punk bands Pervert Preachers and Tone Deaf Annies. It’s an early 5pm show, so head out to the West Bank for a night of ska-punk insanity!
The English Beat
With Umbrella Bed
Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis
March 21, 2013
Show Review by MNSKA show reporter Martha Rigby
Heading over to the Triple Rock last Thursday night (March 21), I highly anticipated a chance to hear the English Beat’s studio recorded songs brought to life, this being the first time I saw them live. In the week preceding the English Beat show, I watched one YouTube video of lead singer Dave Wakeling and his backing band, just to see what to expect. It was pretty horrible–Wakeling’s voice sounded unstable while the sound was just too echo-y–I’ll chalk it up to bad acoustics, after having witnessed a stellar performance from the English Beat at the Triple Rock. Wakeling was on point, his voice strong as ever. A pleasant surprise was Antonee First Class (vocals/toaster), just about the flyest dude I’ve seen in a long time. In addition to singing backup vocals he freestyled between songs about 80’s pop culture, for those who were around in that decade. He’s got some flow for sure.
Overall the band was just as sharp as on the studio recorded songs, just as tight, but most importantly, bursting with energy and passion that it was almost surprising this band is past its prime. The instrumental jamming on “Hands Off She’s Mine” was especially delightful. One thing the English Beat did well in the 80′s was writing songs with great opening riffs. “Save It For Later” comes to mind–that first bass note got an immediate cheer of recognition. The highlights for me were mostly the typical hits: “Save it for Later”, “Mirror in the Bathroom,” “Hands Off She’s Mine,” “Tears of A Clown,” and “I’ll Take You There.” I should have realized earlier that they would save Mirror in the Bathroom for the encore. It was worth it; as Wakeling said when they came back on stage, “here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for.” It was fast and large and people went nuts.
It was great to see such a diverse crowd getting down. To me it looked it looked like a slightly older crowd than your typical Triple Rock show, but Wakeling at one point commented that we looked young! In between sets, I was chatting with a woman by the bar and she asked how old I was. “22?! When I was 22 I was going to English Beat shows! And I’m 57 now, I can’t wait to dance!” 2tone, a record label and genre emphasizing racial unity, brought us all together on Thursday night for a skanking good time!
Local 2-tone ska band (and Ska-POW! champions) Umbrella Bed opened for the show, and the crowd was pretty lukewarm towards them. That changed of course if you went up close to the stage and skanked with the UB fans. Right as I walked in, I overheard someone behind me say, “are they from Minneapolis? How long are they playing?” which is just a testament to the draw that the English Beat has outside of the explicitly ska scene in the Cities. Personally I thought Umbrella Bed was great, though they lacked some of their bouncy energy they had at Ska-POW! I suppose the crowd and the band mutually influence the energy they exude, so I can’t give them too hard of a time.
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TONIGHT there will be 2 Tone ska music galore when legendary band The English Beat play at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis. The venue is a bit more intimate than they usually play when they come to town, which should appeal to die-hard fans young and old. Opening up the night will be MNSKA veterans Umbrella Bed, who return to the Triple Rock after being crowned the champions of Ska-POW! 2013, an all-ska battle of the bands. You won’t want to miss this show! To avoid all the nasty Ticketmaster fees and charges, get your ticket at the door!
There may be ice and snow on the streets of Minneapolis, so nothing like some red hot ska music to warm things up! This Saturday, February 2nd, we have a ska double-header that will help you shake off the winter blues. Starting things off, at 7 pm at The Honey Lounge in NE Minneapolis, Topper Norris will be playing a set of traditional ska music from The Skatalites, Paragons, Desmond Dekker along with some rocksteady tunes. Topper Norris is one of the newest bands in town and are worth checking out, a perfect appetizer for the evening!
On to the main course! At the Triple Rock Social Club at 8pm, Radio K’s Rude Radio and Tallgrass Brewing present Ska-POW! 2013, the 2nd annual ska battle of the bands! Last year’s champions Rocksteady Breakfast will be taking on 3 new challengers: Umbrella Bed, Drunk History, and The Thundertones. Come witness this year’s battle for the title belt! There will be Tallgrass beer special all night, a ska dance-off for members of the crowd, and a panel of guest judges who will decide the outcome. Spin the prize wheel to win some amazing prizes from the band.
If you were there for last year’s Ska-POW, you know this an event you won’t want to miss! If you haven’t seen these bands perform or aren’t familiar with their music, I challenge you to come out this weekend and be a part of our ever-growing ska community. Make some friends, have some laughs, bust some moves, and enjoy the rich local ska scene!
IT’S BACK! Time for the second annual Ska-POW! Battle Of The Bands at the Triple Rock Social Club! This is not your average ska show, it’s an event brought to you by Tallgrass Brewing Co. and Rude Radio – Radio K. Last year was a smashing success, where a near-capacity crowd cheered on the 4 competitors (and went through 19 cases of Tallgrass tallboys!), ultimately crowning Rocksteady Breakfast with the coveted title belt. In 2013, Rocksteady Breakfast will take on all-new challengers: Umbrella Bed, Drunk History, and The Thundertones. Who will win this year?
The show will be divided into 2 halves. During the first half, each band will play 3 songs (1 instrumental, 1 cover song, and 1 original) before 4 guest judges, who will ultimately decide which band has what it takes to take home the Ska-POW! belt. At the end of the first half, it’s HALFTIME, featuring a ska dance off while DJ Aaron Porter spins vintage Jamaican ska tunes! That’s right, the crowd can get in on the action and show off your best moves! The second half will feature each band playing 4 of their best tunes. The judges will tally their scores and declare a winner. The winning band will take the stage with one more time for a celebration encore and close out the night!
Along with the bands and the DJ kicking out tunes, there will be specials on Tallgrass beer all night long. There will also be a $2 Prize Wheel, featuring all sorts of prizes from the bands. This was one of the most fun shows all year so don’t miss out on this year’s shenanigans! Saturday, February 2nd (Groundhog Day) at the Triple Rock at 8pm. So much ska-related mayhem for only $5!
Long-running two-tone ska band Umbrella Bed brought the dancefloor to its knees last Monday at The Belmore in Minneapolis. Opening for The Skatalites, the band brought their horn-driven antics in full force, shown here playing their signature tunes “Mystery Skanker” and instrumental “Narcissus.” Keep checking the our shows calendar to see where they are playing next.
You can check out the video on YouTube HERE
On Monday night, brand new downtown Minneapolis venue The Belmore opened its doors for its very first music concert. The concert featured Jamaica’s original creators of ska music, The Skatalites as well as local ska acts Umbrella Bed and The Prizefighters. The place was packed, which was especially surprising for a Monday night at a club that doesn’t even have its name on the front door! We at MNSKA had an absolute blast dancing the night away and captured some footage of the show. The above video features the band opening their set with “Freedom Sound.”
You can check out the video on YouTube HERE
Are you excited for the upcoming Skatalites show but can’t wait until Monday for your vintage Jamaican ska fix? Boss Sounds Downtown has you covered! Come on down to Grumpy’s on Thursday October 18th and practice all your dance moves while the Prizefighter Sound System selects the finest original ska, rocksteady and early reggae 45s strictly for you. The records will be spinning from 10pm – 2am, the beer and rum will be flowing, and there is no cover to get in.
And the Jamaican ska keeps coming! There is a brand-new traditional ska band in town called Topper Norris, and they will be playing at Honey (below Ginger Hop in NE MPLS) on Friday, October 19th from 8pm-10pm. These cats can play, and they get their kicks by laying down their interpretations of classic Skatalites tunes in a true jazz style.
Storming through the Midwest, here come THE SKATALITES! This group was the original creator of ska music in Jamaica, featuring original member Lester Sterling, and they are performing on Monday, October 22nd at new downtown Minneapolis venue The Belmore. Opening the show are MNSKA bands Umbrella Bed and The Prizefighters! The music begins at 7pm so get there EARLY!
Big night for Midwestern ska music coming up this Friday (October 6th)! Michigan ska-punk veterans Mustard Plug will be headlining at the Triple Rock with special guests Wisconsin ska-rockers Something To Do and MNSKA band Umbrella Bed! The show is 18+ with doors opening at 9pm. You’re going to want to get there early, because Umbrella Bed will be shooting a live music video for one of their brand-new songs!! If you want to be immortalized on film as a piece of MN ska history, you should be at this show! 3 great bands from 3 great states for 1 night only!
