If there's one thing that I've learned over my last few years of live shows, it's that the sure way to kill your idols is to see them play live 25 or 30 years into their music career. What's interesting about The English Beat is that, though this rule holds true in certain ways, they still put on a killer show.

December is always a tough time of year. Too much happening all at once and never enough time to do everything. With only about 4 hours notice I had to find someone to go to the show with me and figure out how to get from my son's 5th grade holiday concert to Tupelo Hall, 45 minutes away in Londonderry, NH. As with all public school events, the holiday show started late but went off nicely and, for the most part, without incident (one young chorus singer had to leave the stage briefly; a victim of an upset stomach brought on by acute stage-fright). I had resigned myself to heading to New Hampshire alone when I ran into a friend and 5th grade dad who was up for an impromptu road trip. We made a quick exit from the school and headed north.

Tupelo Hall is a wonderful venue located basically in the middle of nowhere. As best I can tell, a music loving couple decided that they wanted to spend their lives seeing great music. With that idea in-hand they found an old, antique house/barn, way off the beaten path (at least for city folk like me) and made it into a club. It's an intimate space that feels more like someone's living room than a small concert hall. Add to the mix a canteen that serves sandwiches, their BYOB alcohol policy and eclectic beer and wine shop in the cellar and Tupelo almost feels like home.

Since we arrived late to the show, things were in full swing as we made our way to the back of the hall. The crowd was an odd mix of middle-aged adults (out for a night, reliving their college days), aging punk rockers (complete with Fred Perry polo shirts and scally caps), and college kids. We found our spots just as The English Beat broke into the opening bars of "Twist And Crawl". They then moved on to "Can't Get Used To Losin' You", "I Confess", "Save It For Later", "Sole Salvation", "Best Friends" and "Tenderness". This greatest hits set was interspersed with occasional lesser known tracks and at least one new song that's slated for a new album that they hope to release in 2011. It speaks volumes about the depth of The English Beat that I showed up at least a half-hour into their set and still heard nearly a dozen hits.

Here's where I'm of two minds about this show. The English Beat that I've listened to on record for the better part of 20 years is an edgy band; ska rhythms and angular guitars that skate along at the edges of punk rock. The English Beat that I saw at Tupelo seemed an adult-contemporary version of the band I've loved for so many years. All of the edges have been sanded away leaving a pleasant, adult-friendly version of themselves. It was incredibly disappointing not to experience the vein of anger and frustration that so defined their sound in the 1980s. That being said, this new and more mature incarnation of the band brought the party to Tupelo Hall. They pushed all the right buttons with the audience, playing all the right hits at the right times while mixing in enough obscurities and new material that the night didn't become a silly greatest hits review. They were tight and fun and kept the crowd on their feet for the entire night. It may not have been exactly what I had hoped for but they were a pleasure to watch nonetheless.

They closed their set, bringing the ska home with full force, with "Rankin' Full Stop" and a hyped-up version of "Mirror In The Bathroom", both of which managed to capture a little of that edgey-ness that I missed. They nailed both songs, left the stage briefly and returned with a 2-song encore that closed the night out in style.

-George Dow

The English Beat
December 15, 2010
Tupleo Music Hall, Londonderry, NH

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