Dub Pistols at KOKO in Camden

Do you like reggae music served on a bed of bouncy ska with the merest dash of oestrogen spicing the boy’s brigade that is  Dub Pistols?

If you do then you have something in common with the fresh faced twenty-somethings, thickening thirty-somethings and straggly haired forty-somethings who skanked their way through Saturday night’s set at KOKO.

Ahhhh KOKO,  it is the Camden Palace by nature if not by name . The endless floors, balconies and boxes, with almost entirely red decor dotted with gold busts of goddesses, present so many alcoves that people watching is a constant option and if you want to have a quickie on a carefully selected stairwell, well, I dare ya.

But back to main business, Dub Pistols appeared as part of Soundcrash live whose triple headed bill included Herbaliser and the glorious Trojan Sound System. Like many ska bands they sometimes appeared to have their entire extended family on stage; the suited mob never shrank under seven with the two trombonists marking themselves out amidst the controlled cacophony.

Cacophony is not the most polite word for the band’s efforts but there is so much happening in each track that it is not a clean sound that meets thine ears. Led by ex-club promoter, Barry Ashworth, Dub Pistols began to make their name in 1996 on the back of the big beat movement and underneath the brass section it is the heavy breakbeats that push for dominance. Laid over the top are the sometimes chilled, sometimes chilly vocals of guest rapper and performer in his own right, Rodney P.

Rodney was into stirring up the crowd and, although insecure does not do his booming voice justice, there was something touching about the way he sought a certain pitch of approval. ‘People are you still with us?’ he blared which, because this audience were too cool for hysteria, caused only a tepid response. ‘That felt a little half-hearted so I’m going to ask again, people are you still with us?!’

The response was still on the wrong side of moderate but, Christian Bale aside, all professionals realise that the show must go and the next track began to roll.

An appearance by Lindy Layton and a finale of Gangsters by The Specials later and it’s all over, a technically accomplished and crowd-pleasing show, yet in a world where there are many bands good enough to fill venues whilst lacking the spark of creativity that marks a truly independent sound, the Dub Pistols are more of a tribute to hybrid genres  than anything out of the ordinary.

The Dub Pistols played  KOKO on Saturday 2 May

KOKO
1a Camden High Street
Camden
NW1 7JE