Dreadzone - 22-10-09 - Gloucester Guildhall

At last a gig in my home town, the first one since last December! Dreadzone played that night as well and here we were back again for a night of skanking to the dread beat.

The Guildhall is a lovely venue, a bar room with seating and the main hall which also has a bar and an amazing bouncy dance floor. There is also a gallery up there so if you ever go arrive early and admire the art! The downside to the Guildhall is that there is no smoking area. Patrons who are also smokers have to go out to the front of the building on Eastgate street. This is a main pedestrianised street in the centre of town which means you get all sorts of people going to and from bars and clubs passing by. This is not the greatest setting in which to enjoy a smoke.

We arrived and said hello to Dreadzone who were buzzing from the success of the tour so far. We were sad to hear that MC Spee was unable to be with them as his baby was in hospital. We wish her a speedy recovery and lots of love to Spee and his wife.

We were expecting a support act of some kind but Greg Dread informed us that he was the support act! Greg came on stage and span some tunes to warm the crowd up. The hall was fairly empty at first but soon more and more people were gathering and slowly loosening up by gently dancing to Greg's tunes. It wasn't long before the hall was full and everyone was ready for Dreadzone.

Dreadzone came on amid clapping and cheering from the crowd. The last time Dreadzone played here it sold out and was heaving. Tonight there may have been slightly less but as it was a Thursday night that was expected. It was packed though and soon sweaty bodies were dancing like freaks to the Dreadzone sound.

Whilst MC Spee was no doubt missed, Earl 16 is an old hand at leading a performance and he did a great job tonight. His sweet voice mesmerised the audience as he sang. Master of bass Leo Williams kept the fat bass lines coming and Chris Compton rocked out on lead guitar. Chris Oldfield worked his magic at the controls and Greg Dread kept it all together with the beat.

They played some old favourite Dread tunes and some new ones from their forthcoming album. All the new tunes seemed to go down really well with the crowd and the room was full of people bouncing. All to soon it was over and we were left to get a taxi home.

A great night at a top venue. Dreadzone's new album will be one to watch out for!

Sam Wilkinson.

www.positive-evolution.org.uk

See all my pictures from the gig at:

Click Here

Links:

www.dreadzone.com

www.gloucester.gov.uk/guildhall