I AND I: The Skatalites, Trocadero, February 22nd, 2007
EVA SAYS: I wasn’t at all surprised to find a lot of empty space between patrons at the Skatalites show. On a night like this, all the hip, trendy kids were probably well on their way to catch the new electro-ipod/turntable-avant-garde-sample whatever somewhere along the borders of NoLibs. Their loss. Though a little aged and worn around the edges, the Skatalites still delivered one of the most fun shows of the past year. And sure, the musical aspect was important. There was no forgetting that I was in the presence of the real thing, the architects of a genre, the original ganstas of ska. But it was the kind of show where the music mattered only as much as it made people MOVE. And move we did. Rude boys and girls, skinheads and punks alike all came together to skank their little hearts out on the Troc’s ample dance floor. But you didn’t have to be a ska fan to appreciate the gait of the syncing horns or the cool, low-dropped rhythms of the drums. Amongst the sea of elbow lifts, foot thrusts, hip twists and sloshed beers, there wasn’t a single unsmiling face in the joint. And did I mention they had horns? All around, the combination of people, vibes and music invited everyone to drop pretensions and just dance. It was the kind of good combination which brought back some of that good, old fashion fun. A-