This was potentially one of those ‘were you at’ gigs, as the story unfolds you’ll understand why.
The venue was Hotel Pelirocco on Saturday 4 March, and Dakka Skanks are billed as a Punky Reggae party. That’s the sort of party I want to be at, along with several others as it turned out.
An interesting cross section of Brighton residents, all ages, and tastes, a smattering of curious tourists, some mods, some 80’s Fahionista’s, young punks & excitable family members, stood around in expectation, you could feel something in the air.
One m
an punk band, soon to be a legend, Young Francis, orders our attention and with a bang-bang from his solitary bass drum, all eyes are on him. This man has talent, a one man Ramones, with a touch of John Cooper Clarke wit. Playing Infectious bite size punky pop with great crowd interaction and banter, there was a feeling we were watching something that people will be marvelling about in years to come. He captivated the whole room with his snappy tunes and buckets full of enthusiasm; it felt like we were in some arty dive bar in NYC in the ealy 80’s for a while. He certainly set the scene for the next act & all with only one bass drum, guitar & a mic. We’ll be seeing him again me thinks.
Dakka Skanks hit the stage running with an infectious blend of Ska and reggae, which had the whole place jumping within seconds . The whole band clearly loves what they are doing and that in itself raises the roof & creates its own energy.
Ska, Reggae n Dub is what this band is all about, with similar passion to that the original 2 Tone scene created in the late 70’s, Dance mania ensued, and boy is that missing in today’s music scene. The whole room is smiling and the band bounce back of the crowds vibes too. Early in the set they throw in one of my all time faves Missing Words by Selecter, this set the scene for a spectacular show. Their own original material is absolutely superb too.
Gigs should be entertainment, no shoe gazers here! This was pure energy in a proper old school gig sense. Dakka Skanks are going to take off & like 2 tone did way back when, I think they will be influencing a whole wave of new bands to get up and play and entertain. They could have played all night and we’d all still be dancing, I for one can’t wait to see ‘em again, try and catch them in an intimate venue before they go massive.
An absolute corker, were you there?
DAKKA SKANKS and YOUNG FRANCIS at the PELIROCCO
