XC's reggae and Soca band.

I did go out on Saturday night (who wouldn’t?) and the answer to the quiz was c) - ‘it was complicated’. Also, I'm still a day behind on this Blog.

Conveniently, as I travelled out to Marlow I seemed to know the way. In fact I had a distinct feeling of Deja Vue.

This time the Cross Keys pub was fairly full, and as I’m banned from drinking, I bought a coffee.

I know, I know, and you’re quite right it attracted every idiot in the pub over to me like a candle attracts a moth. One of them inspired me to try to work out how I could quietly 'deal' with him while the bouncer was looking the other way.

In fact, he wandered away drunkenly – to be replaced by a succession of people walking on drunken diagonals or wobbly zig-zags past me.

It was one of those pubs where people go to drink themselves into oblivion and I should have been more charitable, given my own feelings about Marlow. I’d probably want to do the same if I lived nearby.

I was back in the Cross Keys Pub to see XC’S – Reggae and Soca band.

 

This is Baxter on Lead guitar and T-man on Bass

Now I had no idea what ‘Soca’ was but I know my reggae and it’s not so easy to find it these days. The old reliables of the East End and Brixton still produce a few nights but they are too far away for me. This side of London – nothing.

So off to expensive Marlow – why?

Because it’s within a few miles of High Wycombe which still has an Afro-Carribean community like Slough does. And High Wycombe has a lone reggae band too – XC’s.

I enjoyed the first set which started with a couple Motown standards given a slow reggae treatment. Then the heat gradually turned up. Nesta Robert Marley was well represented – the last number of the half was ‘Three Little Birds’, a favourite of mine and written about his backing singers.

This is Yvonne on vocals and just behind her you can almost see DeKey aka Shuga Boi on keyboards. Drums were from Dely but he managed to avoid my camera too.  | 

translated from English to English

Translation in progress. Please wait...

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', ("This is my message to you-ou-ou:")

Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!"

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Pitch by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', "This is my message to you-ou-ou:"

Singin': "Don't worry about a thing, worry about a thing, oh!
Every little thing gonna be all right. Don't worry!"
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing" - I won't worry!
"'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."

Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right" - I won't worry!
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing, oh no!
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right!

 

‘Time will tell’ and ‘Steer it up’ were great and then there was a long medley of what could only be ‘Soca’; it seemed to be a mixture of the sounds of all the islands, including St. Vincent, Trinidad and a little Cuban spice too, all mixed up with some high energy.

Hmmm, I’ll have to try and get used to all that.

Then they stopped for a break, turned their set list over ready for the second half and went off for a smoke.

When they came back the pub had pulled the plug. So no second half, no more photos and an early journey home instead of the late night that I was all prepared for. Strangely they were going to be playing records into the early hours – so why the curfew?

Marlow? I think customs stops the good times at the border.

I don’t think I’ll be back. At least not until I am allowed to get wasted and I don’t think the Dr’s are  going to let that happen any time soon. On the other hand I’d rather like to hear the second half of the show.

Perhaps I’ll even have to go all the way to High Wycombe to catch XC’s, which doesn’t seem fair somehow.

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)