“Big thanks to The Joiners for having us, Southampton, representing on a Sunday night” – Gentlemen’s Dub Club.
So nobody cared that it was a Sunday, the Joiners saw a packed venue for the performance of Gentlemen’s Dub Club, alongside some fantastic support acts. As it was lead singer Jonny Scratchley’s birthday, he certainly put all his energy into making sure the crowd got their skanking shoes on (yes I did just say that)!
But first off, a smartly labeled black briefcase with bold white writing sitting at the front of the stage let it be known that The Crooked Beat (great name!) were to start off the night. A fairly recently formed six-piece, who promise to deliver ‘an intense and varied live set blending reggae, dub and psych-rock’, did just that and I was certainly not disappointed! With varying tempos, solid drumming and plenty of echoes and reverb sound effects, their set maintained interest throughout. Vocalist Gav looked infinitely cool with his pint in one hand and delay pedal in the other. It wasn’t until the second song that Mega Thomas on guitar showed off her vocal talent, which complemented the rapping and singing from Gav very nicely. Their E.P can be downloaded for free here.
Next on were Zegema Beach, an interesting mix of Reggae, dub and at points heavy rock. In a sense, they were similar to The Skints, however at times they did seem a bit ‘stereotypical’ for a reggae band. There wasn’t a great deal of innovation, but it was a lot of fun nonetheless. The singer was slightly like a Jarvis Cocker of dub with his interesting dance moves, long shaggy beard and general persona. I had a brief chat with him after their set and he was a thoroughly nice guy.
Gentlemen’s Dub Club soon took to the stage and were of course incredible. As quoted by Features Editor Andrew Ovenden, “I’ve seen Blur, Pulp, New Order, Oasis, The Rifles, The Beat, The Specials, Jamie T and The Vaccines to name but a few bands, but this was definitely one of the best gigs I have ever been to. The venue rocked. Quite frankly, it would have been impossible to die of dehydration because there was so much sweat in the air. I had to wash all my clothes the following day and take two showers to feel clean again. Despite not being able to move, I still managed to skank out (and that is coming from someone who will notoriously never dance unless absolutely fucked). I usually stand at the back at gigs but I felt compelled to be in among the crowd for this”.
I don’t think I could really put that better myself, thanks for the details Andrew… Personal favourite songs were ‘Fire‘, ‘Emergency’ and end of the night song ‘High Grade’. Definitely worth checking out as they’ve supported artists such as Roots Manuva, The Streets, The Wailers and Beardyman.
