EASY STAR ALL-STARS – THE BROOK, SOUTHAMPTON, 20th July 2016

It’s been ten years since Easy Star All-Stars released their reworking of the Radiohead classic “OK Computer” and so what better time to take their dub reggae “Radiodread” album back on the road, this evenings set would pull heavily from the iconic release along with tracks form “Dub Side of the Moon” (Pink Floyd) and more.

Support tonight came from fellow Jamaican/American label band-mates New Kingston, a more commercial reggae, a crisper cleaner version made up of a family affair with Courtney Panton Snr on bass whilst his three sons provide drums/guitars/keyboards and each taking up vocal duties.

New Kingston may not have been the tightest of outfits but were fairly accomplished musicians and with their enthusiastic stage presence helped get the crowd warmed up and you could certainly do a lot worse with a support act.

The headliners however showed how it’s to be done with the laid back but deep bass-lines coming from the stage showing this was soon to be more our kind of reggae, Easy Star All-Stars make the “OK Computer” songs their own and even if you’re not a fan of Radiohead for the most part you could easily forget these are a bunch of covers (albeit far removed from the originals).

Vocally there’s plenty of contrast – “Airbag” is sweet and soft, whilst there are also some more gravelly dancehall vibes going on elsewhere and the female vocalist helps provide the harmonies needed to pull off the complex Pink Floyd covers – Easy Star All-Stars having previously raised to fame with reggae versions of “Dark Side of the Moon”.

Early on in the set were a couple of other tracks taken from within their back catalogue, I’ve not been so much of a fan of the Beatles and Michael Jackson albums but luckily tonight only saw one from each, the less obvious Beatles track “Rita May” could easily pass you by as a cover whereas MJ’s “Beat it” seemed to be thrown in for the novelty factor, although both certainly did their bit to get the crowd going.

It was then the alternative samples that would ring out as the Easy Stars went into a fantastic reworking of the Pink Floyd classic “Money“, complete with it’s descent into an even dubbier version, before heading back into Radiodread territory for songs such as “Exit Music (for a Film)” and “Paranoid Android” with the band showcasing it’s rather splendid two piece horn section.

We were also treated to a new cover, this time “High and Dry” taken from the 1995 Radiohead album “the Bends” along with a couple of Easy Star All-Stars own compositions, but it was of course the aforementioned Radiodread and Dub Side of the Moon tracks that were met with the biggest response. 

As such the encore would see the band return with Floyds “Time” before ending on “Karma Police” and you only had to take a look around to see how much the crowd loved tonight’s set and with the audience dancing all night one more thing was obvious… Radiohead songs have never sounded so upbeat and cheerful.