The English Beat Entertainment Art House of Blues Chicago, Ill. February 21 2008

While Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were arguing who Tivo’d whose rhetoric, front man Dave Wakeling was strutting out onto the Chicago stage with his white teardrop guitar, chanting, “Gobama. Gobama,” as the crowd cheered. Dave and the band expressed early on how they had to be in by 10:30 because the forces of the law are relentless due to curfew for all ages shows, plus they really wanted to see how the debates turned out.

If you’ve ever been to a ska show in the city of big shoulders, the night is about horns, dancing and the numbers can be inseparable, except when they jog certain memories and everyone loses it and all around you are the sounds of screaming. And as the Beat’s Toaster, Antonee First Class says, “It don’t matter if you’re white or you’re black, if you’re skinny or if you’re fat. All that matters tonight is peace, love, and unity.” Tonight was never truer to that creed.

The English Beat began in 1979 and sounds no different live these days, despite many member changes through the years. The project has been revered for signature hits such as “Save it for Later,” “Twist and Crawl,” and “Mirror in the Bathroom.” There would be no Sublime, Deal’s Gone Bad, No Doubt, Bim Skala Bim, Johnny Socko, Less Than Jake, Save Ferris, Toasters, Smash Mouth, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Mustard Plug, Reel Big Fish, Suicide Machines, Fishbone, Goldfinger, Hepcat, The Slackers, or Operation Ivy, if not for this seminal ensemble. And the big news is they’re responsible for even more bands.

When the crowd finally stopped being shy and started making requests, The English Beat shared with us of an organization known as Smile Train, the world’s leading cleft charity that they are working with on the tour. Such names as actress Candice Bergen, legendary journalist Walter Cronkite, President George Bush Sr., and Malcolm in the Middle’s Jane Kaczmarek, have all gone out for this cause. On this tour, The English Beat has raised over $30,000 from people just asking for songs and throwing their money on stage to go towards the cause. Now just because there’s a recession on in our country, it doesn’t mean that fans cannot cover a floor in cash if they really believe in something.

From the balcony one could see people dancing and falling in love to “Hands off She’s Mine” and “Can’t Get Used to Losing You,” which Wakeling says he used to dedicate to his liver but now dedicates to Hillary Clinton. “And if you are so drunk you can’t remember where you parked your car, or if you can’t use it once you get to it, we are a full-service ska band, we’ll take you there,” Wakeling proclaimed before launching into The Staple Singers’ classic, “I’ll Take You There.” Other greats that got creepers stomping: “Whine and Grind,” Smokey Robinson’s “Tears of a Clown,” “Twist and Crawl,” “I Confess,” “Rough Rider,” and of course, “Mirror in the Bathroom.”

One of the fans near the stage even offered Antonee First Class his painted leather jacket, complete with the famous pork-pie hat wearing skanker Walt Jabsco on the back. When the audience booed, First Class assured us he would dance when the time was right, and Wakeling dubbed him “The Barack Obama of Ska.” Most certainly, this was a great honor for the England-born, Jamaican singer, who has only been with The Beat for a few months, but says he has been with The Beat since he was shin-high.

The Beat ended on a high note, with a song Wakeling wrote following his self-admittedly confused days as a protester in Britain trying to behead officials of resistance with bricks, the song is their classic and often covered - “Save It for Later.” The serious sentiments of the words, “Sooner or later, you hit the deck. You get found out,” were mixed in with some comedy of adding Better Man by Pearl Jam and a quick smattering of Tom Petty. With that the night of music was done, the audience actually groaned with sorrow when the curtain closed.

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