Sometimes I take a bit of a speculative punt on an act; this was one such occasion.
I knew the name "Dub Pistols", but next to nothing about them, but having no acts to see in October and them appearing at the West End Centre, very close to my home, I decided to take a gamble after listening to a few of their tracks online.
Even from those, though, I realised I was either going to really enjoy the evening or, possibly, hate it.
There was no support, not a bad thing often, and the band (6 mostly middle aged men) ambled onto the stage about on time.
I can't find a setlist anywhere, so I can't really tell you what they performed, although I do recall "West End Story", "Real Gangster", "Running From The Thoughts", "Mucky Weekend", possibly "Rub A Dub" and "Pistoleros" and a few covers "I Predict A Riot", "Peaches" and "Gangsters", which (for me) were the highlights.
On the positive side, they're a very energetic act and there were plenty of people having a great time there, clearly familiar with the songs and the band.
To me, though, the tracks soon began to sound very alike, but I was happy to move along with the groove and the dubbing by the MC, which was pretty good, I have to say.
Barry, the lead man, suggested we all go to the bar for a drink after about an hour and most people did (Some seemingly didn't come back!), which seemed to surprise the band who I think expected a cry for an encore "That's never happened to us before! It's an encore, not an interval", the MC told us, somewhat bemused!
I moved back a bit for the second part and the sound was actually better there, but I was starting to get a headache (I'm pretty sure there were some substances being smoked around me, too, which didn't help), so, although I did enjoy the rendition of "Gangsters", I was out of the door when the set finished.
All told, I certainly didn't hate "Dub Pistols", they put on a lively show, but they're not really 'my thing' and I don't imagine I'd go and see them again.
Setlist:
If I find one, I'll add it.
