As Bluesbunny had gone abroad for a weekend bender, I stumbled across a cracker of an evening. Three kickin' ska bands came together at the Jefke, the student bar of the University of Brussels' campus. A concrete cube, filled with wolf dreads, a variety of smoke (Belgium's still cool…), lots of students, frisbee players and of course our favourite malted barley beverage that the Belgians have truly mastered. With only two choices at the bar, cola or one type of beer, it was an easy decision. Less choices. Less decisions. Less thinking. More drinking. I love Belgium. It's been awhile since I last found such a fine ska gig, but the bilingual beats of Pepper Seed, The Sun System topped off with Mockingbirds filled that void tonight.
Pepper Seed started off with a mellow blend of ska and dub but with a heavy reggae influence. Switching lead vocals between three people they were able to throw all sorts of spices into this musical stew. When Iche took a break from working the keyboards, he'd strut between his band mates spitting fury into the microphone with fire in his eyes. Jean-Luc also took his place in the spotlight and teamed up with the lovely Lola in their anthem to their home city, "Brussels Town". This one was a little slower than the rest but allowed for time to wipe the sweat from your brow. Lola's delightful voice dripped with hot buttered soul and melted together with the easy skanking guitar and the dancing fingers of Rom and Matt on the alto and tenor saxophones respectively. Even without the full band they had plenty of people dancing and feelin' groovy the whole way through. So good were the opening band that an encore was demanded by the eager crowd, which they got. Closing with a song condemning working for the man, this the band that makes you look around the venue during their performance, make eye contact with a stranger and smile and nod together in unison with your eyes half closed. Psst… unsigned!
The Sun System had a tough act to follow but proved, after hurdling a sound issue that halted their first number abruptly, that they were just as willing to make sweet musical love. The four piece band formed a driving force that mixed the quicker, upbeat riffs and fast vocals of ska with the punch of everyone's old reliable friend rock and roll. Let's say you take one member from Sublime, one from Operation Ivy, one from Ziggy Marley's Melody Makers, and Bedouin Soundclash's bassist, throw them together in Brussels and you got one energetic performance bouncing around on the stage. Seriously, check these guys out. After all that's why you're reading this. Also called back for an encore, The Sun System gladly obliged but were careful to leave Mockingbirds time to close the night.
Sporting a beefy wind section of two trumpets, an alto and tenor sax, and a trombone, I knew this musical arousal would continue. The Mockingbirds approximate a big band sound with poppy vocals and lots of upstrumming colliding into an explosion of music that was just meant for dancing. Often touching on the notorious surf rock sound of California in the sixties, it was great to see that it still holds a grip in continental Europe. Their performance was great - complete with the synchronised instrument swinging of the wind section and the vocalist hopping around the stage - and they fuelled an energetic and appreciative crowd. "Shake" provoked the funniest epileptic seizure you've ever had, and is where the brass section on stage really shone. With its quick chorus and climatic conclusion this should be the first track to listen to and the bait that will lead to you getting hooked on them.
Despite nine years of mandatory French lessons, my French has never got further than a few swear words. Therefore I missed a lot of the banter, and some songs featured solely French lyrics, but these three musical ensembles go on to prove that the language of the music doesn't matter. Big pumping, ass shakin', knee bending, fist pumping, easy ska like this just needs willing ears to listen and love. Thanks Brussels!