published: 4 /
7 /
2012
Tom Fogarty enjoys Buster Shuffle's combination of Cockney charm and rousing ska-embellished melodies at the launch gig to promote their second album, 'Do Nothing', at the legendary 100 Club in London
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I first saw Buster Shuffle in 2011 on the bill supporting Chas & Dave at their farewell gig. This actually turned out to be a very short-lived farewell as the duo reformed just three months later. The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle Part 2, anyone? As for Buster Shuffle, although I had never heard of them before, they were very impressive and really shone out on the line-up. They are a four-piece from East London, fused with Cockney wide boy charm, and rousing ska-embellished melodies. Gaining acclaim from the likes of Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq, they were at The 100 Club to promote the launch of their second album, ‘Do Nothing’.
I had never been to The 100 Club before, and had always wanted to. Buster Shuffle wrote a song to help save this legendary club in 2010. And I'm glad to say they did, as this was a brilliantly atmospheric place to hear music, steeped in history with iconic stars fighting for photo space on the walls.
The Regency were the supporting act, a "lad-rock" band, falling somewhere between the Ruts and Oasis. They played a short but punchy set, complete with coarse "mockney-esque" vocals - the highlight being a cover of Neneh Cherry's ‘Buffalo Stance’. They were an appropriate opener to the night's proceedings.
Buster Shuffle came out to be greeted by a small but boozed-up, rowdy audience - all clearly up for it. Kicking off with a couple of songs from their new album that could easily have come from their first album, ‘Our Night Out’, the mood was high and the crowd were dancing from the first note.
They are a hard-working gigging band, which really showed through in their set. Buster Shuffle are a band to be enjoyed live rather than from a home set up. Front man, Jet Baker, is a confident and charismatic performer with audience interaction and participation at a premium, often spending several minutes bantering with the fans.
In true Chas & Dave style, the songs are catchy and the lyrics humorous. Perhaps the best example of this is with ‘The 38’, a song from ‘Our Night Out’ about an eventful bus journey through Bethnal Green.
The new material on offer sat well with their old stuff and blended smoothly together. Indeed, Buster Shuffle's songs often sound similar, but they were so jaunty and performed with such gusto that it was hard not to be impressed and carried along with the tunes and audience.
Crowd pleasers through and through, they managed to find time to squeeze a couple of classic ska covers in as well, by the likes of the Specials and Toots and the Maytals.
Two encores later, and the audience were still buzzing and clearly had no intention of going home any time soon. Although I chose this moment to bow out, it was a fun night. Buster Shuffle are a great live act and, judging by the new songs and crowd reaction one to watch out for in the future. Highly recommended.
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