Dave mingles with the Royalty – Duke Special

Posted on 29th Oct 05 by Contributor | 0

Artist: Duke Special
Author: Dave

After a more than laborious detour to Cyprus Avenue via UCC " Airport " Glasheen" I finally arrive at the door" wet as an otter"s pocket and not at all in the mood to be entertained. I get myself a beer and place myself on a stool" staring at the wall. Looking up I notice a promotional poster for this gig:

The Duke Special

And this was only the beginning"

On stage walks a Dickens style character" with a black"rimmed hat and a blazer" and starts to wind a gramophone" blaring out some whimsy long forgotten "merry ol"England" number about a woman loving her "bananas". Then on walks the Duke himself" an eccentric looking character" partly dreadlocked" partly lobotomised and takes his seat at the piano and starts to play "As Good As" and instantly I was locked in" his voice soaring through the room" shattering any pre"conceptions that I had about white people with dreadlocks. As the song ends and the drummer takes to the stage" our friend again treats us to more of this old song" before Duke drives it out with "Scarlett"" similar to the first tune but the drums driving it even higher than its predecessor. The show descends into as much a musical as it is a gig with the drummer taking centre stage" opening up a Tesco bag and producing a silver spoon and a cheese grater. In a rather animated and quite brilliant fashion he provides the introductory rhythm for "I Let You Down" a song that kind of reminds me of Paul McCartney playing "The Kinks"" very psychedelic and poppy.

The track "Closer To The Start" combines the Duke"s masterful piano playing with a minimalist" marching beat from a very creative and inventive drummer. The words" "Meatloaf and Freddie Mercury"s bastard child" kept echoing in my head during this song" so fast tempoed and dramatic was its delivery. Next up was "Portrait" and was a one"way ticket back to the world of psychedelica with a horn routine provided by our gramophone"playing friend. The number "Don"t Breathe"" another brilliant work by the Duke" is a song that would lift the most depressed" baggy"trousered" Paul St. Nirvana"Goth out of their mindset. I couldn"t help but smile as the audience was led by the hand through this magical repertoire.

"Free Wheel" sees the man of mystery return with a radio in hand" holding up to the mic" the static combined with whatever was looped with the microphone to create a haunting backdrop for another sparkling work. As far as piano/drummer combos go" Duke Special are the most immense I have ever heard" sending a wall of sound shock waves flowing through the crowd. A merry"go"round rhythm supplements "You Don"t Show Me"" strung together with celestial vocal harmonies backed by clarinet and the song is sent off by the drummer" sashaying his way around the cymbals in a crescendo of sound" avalanching to its finale.

Next up was a cover of "Love Will Tear Us Apart"" which is done solely by Duke and takes a while to show its true colours. The Duke tears the song down to its bare bones and shows it for what Ian Curtis had originally written.
"Last Night" and "Brixton" lead the night on to "Salvation"" backing vocals provided by "yer man"" this time on megaphone" and ends with a "Day In The Life" " esque climax. They return for an encore playing "Scars"" which he dedicates to local folk singer "Annette Buckley" before inviting her on stage for a cover of "Don"t Take My Sunshine Away"" the whole house singing along to the chorus.

I cannot say enough about this gig or this band" maybe it was on the night it was" bad mood and all" I needed cheering up" but this was simply a whirlwind of entertainment" even a person who doesn"t like music would have loved this. I implore you to take a visit to the Duke Special roadshow before he hits the big time.