Dreadzone & The Defekters - Club 85, Hitchin, 27 March 2010

We made the 240 mile round trip to Hitchin & back last weekend for one of the first Dreadzone gigs of the year. Even though I have now seen Dreadzone 23 times I was still looking forward to the 24th time! As we have friends & family in the area we were able to make a lovely weekend of it.

Club 85 is a nice little venue with a great sound. The club has a bar room downstairs with the main space upstairs where there is another bar. I had only been here once before to see RDF a couple of years ago & there had been a fair sized crowd but Dreadzone were a sell out. The venue was packed out & it was a struggle to push through to get to the bar... just as it should be!

The Defekters are from Stevenage & have been together as a 4 piece band since September 2006. They have a Ska influence to some of their tracks but they experiment with their sound & don't want to be pigeon-holed. They were thrilled to be supporting Dreadzone.

They played a great set, the sound was excellent & the crowd were warming up nicely by the end of the first song. They played a couple of their older tracks alongside new tracks bringing a mix of Ska, Reggae, Rock & more to the set. Their short stint on stage was over too quickly, the crowd had loved it & were hungry for more. There was no more to come though as The Defekters made way for the mighty Dreadzone.

Dreadzone have now been together for 17 years in various forms, always with founder member Greg Roberts. Their 6th studio album 'Eye on the Horizon' is due out on 26 April. They are firm favourites on the festival scene & have gigged endlessly over the years.

There was anticipation in the crowd as the band came onstage. Greg seated himself behind the drumkit, Chris Oldfield took up his place behind the laptop, Leo Williams took up his bass and singers Earl 16 & MC Spee stood at the front of the stage. Well I say stood, poor MC Spee still has problems with his knees and was seated with crutches by his side. He seems to have worked the crutches into his routine well though by gesturing with them often! Guitarist Chris Compton was missing meaning it wasn't quite a full band line-up.

There was an old school vibe to the evening, people of all ages & types had come to the gig but there was a majority of older Dread fans. Those people that remember the free festivals, that remember Dreadzone being played on the radio & remember (& still play) the 'Second Light' album that for many encapsulates that era. I think Dreadzone felt that vibe too as I was surprised that they played mostly old tunes. With a new album only weeks away I thought it would be mainly the new stuff.

As always they put their heart and soul into the gig & the crowd went wild. After taking a few pictures I had to move from the front of the stage as I was getting pushed & shoved all over the place! They played old favourites like 'Captain Dread' and 'Elevate' as well as some new songs like 'Gangsta'. They sounded brilliant and the club was heaving with smiling dancing people. All too soon the encore was over and the light were on & people started drifting home.

An amazing Dreadzone gig with a brilliant support band at a great venue. Dreadzone just get better & better and I have been lucky enough to hear the new album & highly recommend it. There are more live dates on this tour & then gigs at lots of festivals over the summer. If you have never seen Dreadzone go and catch them this year!

Reviewed by: DreadySam

Sam Wilkinson.

www.samsimillia.co.uk

www.positive-evolution.org.uk

See all my pictures from the gig at:

www.ukrg-net.co.uk/gallery/thumbnails.php

Links:

www.dreadzone.com

www.www.myspace.com/thedefekters

www.club-85.co.uk