DANCING TO A BEAT

The English Beat cane to town with The Ruckus, a band that plays Ska/Funk/Soul out of Manhattan, Kansas.  The ticket was a gift of a friend and I met up with several others to enjoy yet another night with some great music performed by Dave Wakling and his band.  Some made it into the dressing room where all were smoking "cigars."  What I did notice was now that Amendment 64 passed legalizing marijuana in Colorado, the whiff of that fine herb we evident in the air throughout much of the show.

As always, the altitude gets to Dave, requiring a breather between songs while sweat pours out of his skin.  He's always entertaining and the music kept everyone in the packed house dancing on their feet.  The audience loves the band, the band loves the audience, Dave and his crew taking the time to shake hands with all after the show.  We appreciate his appreciation!

I biked back to the office where I found my secluded spot under the cottonwood trees along the creek where I spent a quiet, restful night.

The English Beat were one of 'ten best concerts listed for this weekend.  They described them as:

Inspired by the first wave of punk in the U.K., the Beat combined the social critique of punk with the broader emotional and sonic palette of reggae. Formed in 1978, the English Beat (so named when the band made its way across the Atlantic) released three classic albums before Dave Wakeling and Ranking Roger moved on to form General Public, where they realized great commercial success. The two eventually parted ways to front their own versions of their original band.

This regular Westword feature is great to learn about who's playing here in the Denver area.  As shown on this top 10 list, there were plenty of great bands performing here this weekend that I would also have liked to seen.

http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2012/11/denver_best_concerts_live_music_november_16-18.php?page=8

Download the mp3 @ 320 kbps here:
https://rapidshare.com/files/957990822/EB%20November%2018_%202012%20MP3.rar