6th November 2023
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Just days after their electrifying ninth studio album You Got This released on Friday 17th April, the Welsh three piece ragga-metal outfit Skindred performed an album release show at Liverpool’s Jacaranda Baltic venue. The show came as part of Skindred’s tour across the UK in recent weeks that offers fans an intimate atmosphere in small-venue acoustic sets. To anyone who has heard their music, having a band like Skindred perform their typically high-energy mix of heavy metal riffs, punk energy and reggae-influenced grooves in a stripped-back style may seem odd but the band seemed completely in their element.
As the band entered the stage and frontman Benji Webbe welcomed everyone, it was immediately clear that this would be more of an unusual concert going experience than I had typically had. The cramped space was immediately utilised to the best of their ability to create a personable, friendly atmosphere, beginning the set not with a song, but an incredibly funny anecdote.
Most musicians may only provide a short sentence as to what inspired their songs. Not so with Benji, who offered the full hilarious story of his bathtime music listening being interrupted by an irritated neighbour, while backed by simple guitar lines from bandmates Mikey Demus and touring bassist Tommy Gleeson. He then seamlessly used this story to familiarise the audience with the lyrics to one of their classic songs, ‘Pressure’ from their debut 2002 album, Babylon.
After that introduction to the style that the performance would take for the next hour, we were met with yet another amusing backstory for a song, this time about him being stalked by a fan while shopping in an Asda. Once more the storytime segment was used to fluidly transition into the chorus of one of their defining songs; ‘Gimme That Boom’ from their 2023 album Smile. The acoustic style clearly showed the band’s reggae influence, with a unique swing and bounce not present in the studio recording, and Benji’s delivery more focused on audience engagement than being hard-hitting and energetic.
Following these songs, the performance turned to several songs from ‘You Got This’, starting with the lead single from the album of the same name. The fun call-and-response style of the chorus helped to really make the audience a part of the song, and the motivational message of the track was really emphasised when partway through the band switched to perform a cover of the iconic chorus of ‘Eye of the Tiger’ by Survivor! After the entire audience participated with that anthem, it cleanly switched back to the song for the final verse and chorus. Following this was another fun track, ‘Broke’, with the catchy chorus making for the ideal crowd-pleaser.
Benji then proceeded to tease the band’s most famous song, the breakout single ‘Nobody’ from their debut album. It was only a fun rug pull for the audience though, and while it would have been enjoyable to see them perform this, it was a show revolving around their new material, rather than indulging in past work.
They promptly jumped into another single from their recent release, the incredibly catchy ‘Can I Get A’. As the title would suggest, the chorus revolves around a call and response that maximised our collective participation as an audience and was a definite highlight of the live set, to the point where the studio recording feels comparatively empty without a packed room to shout back the lyrics to Benji onstage. The penultimate song of the evening was ‘Warning’ – somewhat of a surprise given that its neither an ultra classic hit nor new material. Nonetheless the dynamic, bouncy energy was a definite crowd-pleaser, but not as much as the final song.
The band fully delved into their reggae roots and quelled any doubts about the unique genre hybrid that they specialise in with a cover of Bob Marley’s legendary 1980 song, ‘Could You Be Loved’. Benji used the song’s iconic lyrics, along with a post-song message to hammer home the band’s ultimate message of love, acceptance and motivation and leave the audience on the ultimate high note.
The fantastic show was capped off with the opportunity for a meet and greet with the band and signings, making for an incredibly memorable event. It is very pleasing to see that despite being over 20 years into their career, Skindred are still so dedicated to their incredibly passionate and supportive fanbase that has driven the band’s unique style of music to the top of the UK album charts this week in Skindred’s first ever No. 1 charting record.
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