Don’t Run Away And Let Me Down

Life can be a wild ride. When I started this blog, I started it as a bit of a joke. Okay, saying that this was ever a joke is a bit of a lie, but the truth is, I never in my wildest dreams thought this little blog would take me to all of the places I’ve been, and Monday night was one of those nights where it was really hard to believe that lil’ ol’ me was where I was. It wasn’t the biggest show of the year, but it was one of the most special. Seeing a legendary musician in a legendary club eating one of the most amazing veggie burgers of my life (shout out to the chef at The Dakota) and sipping on ice-cold root beer (because, at the end of the day, I’m nothing short of a child) was a heck of a way to kick this week off and make me remember just how wild yet amazing this ride continues to be.

I’ve always had a soft spot for ska. I know it’s cliche to say, but it’s a sound that just makes me happy. Bands like Reel Big Fish and Streetlight Manifesto are part of my daily playlists, and there was a time when I went deep into the history of the genre. I fell in love with bands like The Specials, The Selecter, and The English Beat through my deep dive. The music wasn’t the most intense kind of ska that I had ever heard, but I quickly got a soft spot in my heart for the legendary two-tone scene of the ska world that started in England in the late 1970s. It made me want to dance and move. It made me forget my worries and the stresses that tend to plague my soul and truthfully just made me smile from ear to ear so when I saw that one of these founding bands- The English Beat, aka The Beat, aka The British Beat (all depending on where you live)- would be playing at the beautiful Dakota in downtown Minneapolis, I jumped on the opportunity to cover the show.

There are many forms of this band, and the name changes depending on where you live. Here in the United States and Canada, the band is referred to as The English Beat. In Australia, they are called The British Beat. There are places where they are called The Beat. All of this leads to confusion, especially when it comes to trying to explain the past of this band, so I won’t even begin to try but will acknowledge that The English Beat (as I know them) has been through many forms. Their decade-spanning career has seen lineup changes left and right, but one of the main constants has been founding member David Wakeling, and that’s who I got to see on Monday night.

Joined on stage by a dazzling band, Dave Wakeling gave the audience everything they wanted. From pure nostalgia to danceable and iconic anthems, Dave and his band blew through a set consisting of just short of twenty songs. I’ll be honest; it’s been a hot minute since I did my deep dive into this band, so I didn’t recognize all of the tracks that were played, but I can tell you that every song filled the room with an inescapable sense of joy and fun. The songs that I did recognize hit me like a truck. There was something truly magical about hearing these legendary tracks, which literally started a whole genre and have continued to evolve to this day, in real life, from the man who created them.

The Dakota is a sit-down kind of place. It’s the kind of venue where you can have a lovely dinner and dessert as you quietly watch world-renowned musicians perform, but something about the room felt different on Monday night. Instead of people feeling confined to their chairs, every open floor space was filled with dancers, which added to the charm of the evening. Whether you were one of the people dancing or one of those who opted to stay seated while sipping your drink, a smile was on your face, and that just made something about the dark, candlelit room feel so bright, as if sunshine were pouring in from everyone’s eyes.

Another thing that added charm and personality to the night was Dave and his band. Before playing a single note, Dave gave a nod to how messed up this world is. How it’s so frustrating that we all can’t just get along (with respect to the drama unfolding across the ocean right now) and how, at the end of the day, life is too short to be so angry (obviously, I’m paraphrasing here). Between that and many other moments throughout the night when Dave would talk between songs and banter back and forth with a few people seated just inches away from the stage, a barrier was broken between the audience and this iconic musician, adding to the magic of the night.

I feel like I’m talking about Dave a lot, and although he was definitely the leader of this band, I would be remiss not to mention all the other players on stage with him. I’m not going to name them all off (because I honestly didn’t catch all their names, and I apologize for that), but I will say that they each brought a different flavor to the stage, and the music that really brought it back to what two-tone ska is all about. It’s about blending flavors and people. It’s mixing colors and textures in music. It’s about throwing all rules about genre-blending out the window and just making music that feels right and sounds good. Sure, Dave was at the helm of this show, but without his band, it would have been a pretty bland show if you asked me.

I love going to shows nearly every night of my life. That being said, there are nights when it gets rough. I don’t know that I will ever understand what it’s like to be normal. There are times when I long for a mundane life of going home after work, cooking a meal, doing chores, and then going to bed at a reasonable time, but then I get a night like Monday night. Monday night was one of those nights where I felt like I kept on waiting for someone to pinch me back to reality because, truthfully, I don’t think I ever imagined a world where my Monday night would be spent at an iconic jazz club watching someone like The English Beat in such an intimate and beautiful setting. Life is crazy. Buckle up and just see where it takes you.