Beat Union Play For Musical Friends

Birmingham, England band Beat Union performed at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern on Tuesday night.

I'd seen them on an episode of TheNewMusic about two years ago (I think) and thought they had the potential to be my new faourite band. That didn't prove to be the case once I heard their Disconnected debut album earlier this year. I liked it, but perhaps my expectations were too high.

So when Beat Union's last-minute show was announced last week, I became eager to see them for the first time. While the crowd wasn't large, it included members of Cancer Bats and Alexisonfire, as well as British band Johnny Truant, who have almost become honourary Canadians because they spend so much time here. All of them received shout-outs from the stage. Beat Union are also good friends (and have toured) with Bedouin Soundclash, but none of those guys were at the show — or at least I didn't see them.

Beat Union have both mod and punk influences, and ska and reggae elements sometimes creep into their music as well. Lead singer/guitarist Dave Warsop, decked out in a Gaslight Anthem T-shirt, has a voice that occasionally reminded me of Paul Weller. Drummer Luke Johnson pounded ferociously on his kit, bassist Ade Preston leaped around energetically and guitarist Dean Ashton also provided effective backing vocals.

The group incorporated some of The Police's "Can't Stand Losing You" into one song and The Specials' "Ghost Town" into their final number, current single/video "Can't Stop The Radio."

While Beat Union may not be my new favourite band, they're on the right track. I look forward to a second album and a return visit.