By Darren Worrow
Small town live music scenes rarely take shape, but Devizes surprises with a sundry of settings and melodies. However, breaking the mould the newly-renovated Devizes Scooter Club annexed the Conservative Club on a drizzly Saturday in February for an alternative mashup of ska and soul.
Despite rational anxiety for their opening live reservation in the hefty venue, rudies and soul-boys of Devizes dusted off glad-rags and congregated, while DJ Shaun Smitherman expertly eased them in with a set of classic Motown. Now, in an ambience of anticipation, dancers held out for the band, inviting Swindon-based The Killertones proved a very wise move.
Prompt and eager The Killertones bounced on stage and threw Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon Man at us in a style akin to Baba Brooks; it was love at first sound. What followed was a continuous hodgepodge between time-honoured two-tone anthems, reggae-pop hits glazed in brass up-tempo ska goodness, and general Dexys danceable numbers.
From The Specials to Bad Manners, and Madness to The Beat, the Killertones covered them all with a natural ease and gratification; a pleasurable manifestation as we bobbed like buoys on a tempestuous ocean. They blazed Red, Red Wine with the original rock steady flair of Tony Tribe’s version, for example, but I found their upbeat version of KC White’s No, No, No, the most adroit.
In a sizzling frenzy, The Killertones rocked till all dropped, savouring the mood and responding with flabbergasted praise for the small town’s exertions. There was never a sense of shameless self-promotion. The band threw no homemade songs at us, never pushed us their CD, or cornered a table for merchandising; they came wholly to entertain and Devizes felt truly blessed and appreciative.
Scooter Club organisers Adam Ford and Lauren Gibbs commended the performance. “They’re a great bunch and I hope they’ll return to our sleepy town,” said Lauren, “because they sure woke us up last night!” She continued to dish out her admiration for DJ Shaun, who fitted in perfectly at last minute request and polished the finale off with some smooth reggae classics.
If there ever was a Devizes skank, I think I’ve found it.