11/20/08

English Beat 11/14
Went to see The English Beat at Mexicali Live last Fri night. They went on at 1020, after a set by a mediocre white reggae band. I spoke with Dave Wakeling (actually stood next to him while he was talking with some people outside) for a minute before they went on - seemed like a nice guy. Smokes a lot and likes his soccer. He wondered why there weren't more Beat cover bands here in the US. I wasn't going to be the one to tell him. They opened with Whine and Grine/Stand Down Margaret which sounded great. He had a young guy as the Ranking Roger fill in, and he sounded very similiar. They played most of what I wanted to hear (Twist and Crawl, Doors of Your Heart) and all the big hits (Save It For Later, Mirror In The Bathroom, I Confess, and Tenderness from his General Public incarnation). Wanted to hear "Best Friend" or "Sole Salvation" but they didn't play either. The sound was great and the place was packed.