Live Review: The Specials, Mohair Slim

Metro City was a jam-packed sea of polo shirts and shaved (or perhaps balding) heads as The Specials kicked off their latest Australian tour in Perth. With the venue's air conditioning obviously struggling to cope it was a hot and sweaty affair to say the least. 

Melbourne-based DJ Mohair Slim was laying down the ska beats early and getting the crowd well and truly in the mood, before the legendary English 2 Tone band hit the stage to thunderous cheers and opened with their iconic 1981 single Ghost Town. While it must be said that there were some early issues with the sound, they had been sorted, thankfully, by the time the band launched into their third song, Friday Night, Saturday Morning, which had the crowd happily singing along. 

Despite Terry Hall (vocals), Lynval Golding (rhythm guitar/vocals) and Horace Panter (bass) being the only original members left in the current line-up and a ticket price that was perhaps a little hefty, there was much skanking as The Specials worked their way through their back catalogue of ska classics. Panter's bass playing was particularly impressive, driving the band along, while vocalist Hall's — at times almost deadpan — delivery was contrasted by the highly animated Golding.

A highlight of the evening came when most of the band left the stage leaving Golding to deliver a heartfelt acoustic version of Bob Marley's Redemption Song before the band returned to the stage for Doesn't Make It Alright, which once again got the crowd up and dancing.

With the temperature and the occasional temper still rising, The Specials continued on with songs that seemed to be ingrained into the psyche of even the most casual of fans. (Dawning Of A) New Era and Do The Dog were followed up by their classic 1979 debut single Gangsters before Golding's harmonica intro to A Message To You Rudy signalled the crowd to amp things up a notch or two.     

Too Much Too Young and Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think) finished off their set, but The Specials soon returned for a brief encore. Hall thanked the crowd for being so beautiful ("well, most of you anyway") and wondered which city he was in before finishing off the evening with You're Wondering Now, which once again had the audience singing along, lead by Lynval Golding, as they left the stage for the final time.

Sure, Metropolis may have not been the ideal venue, and some of the security team were perhaps at times a little over-zealous when moving punters away from the few air conditioning vents to be found, but if the happy soccer chants from the crowd as they made their way out onto the street was any indication, The Specials proved that they are still more than capable of delivering a killer show.