Duke Special @ Cabaret Voltaire

Why Duke Special take to the stage with Teddy Bears' Picnic crackling out of an antediluvian gramophone is anyone's guess, but it's bound to be some sort of ironic precursor to the vaudevillian pageant that is to follow. With all the dark underbellies and meanings forgotten, the epic singalong choruses and old dancehall verses have half of a sold out Cabaret Voltaire crowd moving from the first chord. The other half, no doubt only here to see what all the fuss is about, take a little longer to find the groove which Duke Special's songs are so obviously designed to create. It's hard to look cool while trying to rock out on a piano, but with errant dreadlocks and his eclectic pop mix of jazz melody and stomping beats, Peter Wilson manages it with gusto and leaves the entire crowd in no doubt as to why such ferment has been focused on a bohemian songwriter from Belfast. [Neil Ferguson]