Concert Review: The English Beat

Last night, I saw the English Beat play at the Middle East. It was such a blast! I went with my science friends, and we had dinner at the Middle East before the show. While enjoying some hummus and pumpkin kibby (I kept telling everyone that it was made out of kitten), I proposed that we drink a ton of beer during dinner because then we'd spend less money at the show. When will I learn? That plan NEVER works. And I proved it again last night. Anyways, the crowd was an eclectic mix of aging hipsters from back in the day, along with the current teenybopper set. We spotted some fine punk hairdos and quite a few guys dressed in black, white, and suspenders. Westbound Train, a ska band that reminded me of Mighty Mighty Bosstones (because every ska band from Boston reminds me of the MMB), opened the show, and I felt like I was transported back to 1996. When the English Beat took the stage, we went even further back in time. They looked and sounded great- singer Dave Wakeling has certainly aged well. The show was very high energy, and halfway through the set Jose and I decided to push our way through the dancing crowd to get up front near the stage. Towards the end of the show, they played Tenderness (Clueless soundtrack, anyone?), Mirror in the Bathroom (I think that one's on the Grosse Point Blank soundtrack), and my personal favorite- Save it For Later. By that point, I was a drunken, sweaty mess, but I was having so much fun I didn't care.

I'm headed to Michigan tonight for Big Al's wedding, so no more posting until Monday.