Broken 3 Ways

Now let’s get straight into the action…these chaps are suddenly jumping and running all over the stage and it’s only been 5 seconds since it started! I can tell this is going to be a good night! We are instantly blasted with the rasta-rock beats, feeling them vibrate though the body. This lot defiantly have ska roots in their blood and have managed to combine these roots to make something rocking and modern. They even have an electro piano guy, now you don’t see that very often – Very cool! Since the first song the crowd are eager to hear more, cheering and dancing along to these multi-genre beats.

Broken 3 Ways set the theme for a ‘no f**ks given’ vibe at this gig. Before we know it the band are performing some great solo’s and going on what I can only describe as a ‘dance mission’. It’s great to be at a gig with such energy, it does go in nicely with the ska feel. They played such tracks as ‘Work On It‘, ‘Drifter With No Name‘, ‘You’ve Been Gripped’, ‘Ain’t No Racist’.

The Jellycats

No time for rest, no time for a smooth funkiness. Just like Broken 3 Ways, The Jellycats plough straight into the action. The room is filled with hype and high energy, as the atmosphere notches up a few gears. Another fine example of the ‘no f**ks given’ vibe, as The Jellycats go absolutely bonkers, dancing like nutters and jamming all the while!

Emma (Lead Vocals) stops for a little chat with everyone, saying “Has anyone seen Towie?” the crowd Boo! (I don’t blame em!). “Can anyone guess where our guitarist is from?… That’s right Essex! I’d like to dedicate this next song to him, T-w-a-t” says Emma. No seriously that is one of their track names – Go listen to it, it’s rather humorous. For one song they have special guest, Billy Kottage from Reel Big Fish join them. It’s got that nut’s that even the guitarist spilled a drink on stage; it was a rather wet one!

Emma goes on to say “Has anyone seen the Blues Brothers?”, the crowd cheers and yells “Yeah!”. They then go into a cover of ‘Everybody Needs Someone To Love‘ – I tell you what they did an awesome job, the ska twist too it really does bump up the mood much more! Mid song they through in a set up change, Emma says “It’s gonna drop to D, so sluts about to get serious”, as Ollie screams down the mic. To end their set they decided to treat us to a new song ‘Take Me Away’, which was a great end to a spirited set.

Get The Jellycats album ‘When I Do’ for FREE here: http://thejellycats.bandcamp.com

Reel Big Fish

Well it’s here…the moment we have all been waiting for. The Crowd yelling and demanding Reel Big Fish several times before they come on. The Suspense is so thick you can cut it with a knife. It then goes quiet, the lights dim and suddenly, Star Wars ‘The Imperial March (Darth Vader’s Theme)’ comes on! As Reel Big Fish appear on the stage the crowd yelling and cheering like crazy people. Aaron Barrett smiles and holds his guitar with pride. Then Suddenly ‘Everybody is an Asshole‘ comes on. I must say what a song to start it off! Then BAM! – Crowd surfing, and its only been one song! Billy grabs the mic stand lean’s it to the crowd and belt’s the chorus “Everyone else is an asshole”. Aaron say’s “We are proud to be in Liverpool, it’s been a long time” – We hope this means more gigs in the future too!

I have no idea how it happened, I think a woman took her bra off and threw it on stage. But we see Arron or Ryland attaching a bra between two mike stands and letting it hang freely in all its glory. Aaron Shouts “We have a special guest for this next song” – Emma from the Jellycats jumps back on stage to help sing this next track ‘I know you to well’.  Afterwards l hear of Aaron saying “You deserve this, a dirty t-shirt, for singing along with us, it probably has herpes, good for audiences”.

During the set they play other classics such as ‘Party Down’, ‘I Dare You to Break My Heart’, ‘Where Have You Been‘, and ‘She Has a Girlfriend Now’. And for what we all think is the final song ‘Hiding in my Headphones’, the crowd demand “One More Song! One More Song!” over and over again, the whole room is shaking. The gang then pop back out and say “You want to hear some more?”. They belt out ‘Monkey Man‘ and everyone is dancing and singing along, the atmosphere is so happy and merry! Reel Big Fish finish with some great covers – ‘Self Esteem’ by The Offspring and then finally a cover of A-ha ‘Take On Me’.

I will tell you this, I’ve been to quite a few gigs in my time and so far this has got to be one of the best! The atmosphere was fun, energetic and no one gave a f**k if they were dancing like idiots, the songs were fun and nothing was taken too seriously – it was a great time!

So let’s wrap this up! Firstly if you are into ska or want to get into the genre then go listen to all of these bands, they have their own feel/ approach to ska reggie-rock. This genre in any situation will lift up the mood, it will make you want to dance, it will in fact stick with you like a blackberry stain on a white t-shirt!

Photos by Christopher James Ryan Photography.