Live Review: Buster Shuffle – ‘Go Steady’ Launch Party – The Hope and Anchor

The Hope and Anchor in Islington has hosted some of the biggest names in the Ska scene over the years so it’s only fitting that Buster Shuffle threw their album launch parties at the venue. On the 17th and 18th of March, the London based Ska outfit took over the iconic venue for the first time in their history. Here’s what went down!

Opening the night’s entertainment was P45, an exciting 21st-century ska band who has been dubbed as the pioneers of the genre ‘Cockney Opera’. Musically, the band sounded crisp and clear. Fans in attendance quickly grew to their style with fans particularly seeming interested in the track ‘Brick And Mortar’. As for the band’s stage presence, it was a very laid back approach. Sometimes all you need is the music and I think this holds true for these guys. Between songs, singer Jack Anthony continuously kept the crowd engaged with small anecdotes mixed with an exposure of his sense of humour. At one point in the night he even had the majority of the crowd singing ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’ which was quite the treat for the West Ham fans in attendance. A great start to the show.

Finally, it was time for Buster Shuffle to take to the stage and right from the off, the room was bouncing. The band themselves looked ecstatic to be there and didn’t waste a single moment of the night. The set was full to the brim with fan favourites such as ‘Our Night Out’, ‘We Fall To Pieces’ and a rare outing of the song ‘thirty-eight’. On top of this, there were obviously a few new tracks on the set. ‘The Hood’ went down extremely well with the crowd being unable to contain their best ska skans while title track ‘Go Steady’ quickly won the hearts of the fans as they bellowed the chorus back to the band.

As far as crowd participation goes, the band welcomed it in all forms with jet constantly encouraging the fans to sing and dance which only heightened the energy levels in the room. One of the standout moments of the night had to be when fans pulled out some inflatable bananas in an attempt to get the band to play their track ‘Banana Thief’ which did make its live debut, albeit very improvised. Throughout the entire night, the band didn’t let up which only fed the crowd to do the same.

Buster Shuffle certainly know how to put on a show and they are quickly becoming one of the stands out bands in the scene. Their unique style mixed with a compelling stage presence and a great sense of humour has worked wonders for them and if they keep up this kind of momentum, I have no doubt that Buster Shuffle will become one of the faces of the modern Ska scene.