Dreadzone

Electric Palace, Bridport

THERE’S probably no better band for mixing up musical styles than Dreadzone.

Reggae, dub, funk, electro – it’s all in the mix and blends beautifully during their live gigs.

I’ve been a fan since the dim and distant past when I first heard one of their white labels working on a student radio station – so when I got a chance to see them live I jumped at it. The first word, however, must go to the support act, ambient trip-hop outfit Solar Wolf, who keep things a bit more mellow than the mighty Dread.

Solar Wolf encouraged the audience to imagine themselves on a beautiful beach when they played White Sands and the stripped-back sound certainly did the trick.

After a brief technical hiccup caused by a crackling microphone, Dreadzone hit the stage and kicked things up a gear.

When frontman Spee nonchalantly asked the crowd if they were all set for a ‘Dreadzone bounce’ the roar that came back could have knocked you off your feet.

There was real mixture of age groups in the room, from young teens (nice to see they still skank a bit) to the older generation – and not one of them could stand still once the band got going.

For me the highlight of the show was hearing Life, Love and Unity – my favourite Dreadzone track and, in my view, their signature song.

They also played some of their newer material, with some of their songs sounding a bit rockier than ever before.

Spee proudly announced that mashing up musical styles is their thing and they like to keep fans guessing. As long as they keep up the good work I’ll gladly remain one of their guinea pigs.