A quick once over of the crowd assembled affront the Corner Hotel on Friday night and one might have found themselves thinking an over 40’s night that just so happened to coincide with a Ben Sherman sale was in full swing.

It was always safe to assume that ska legends The Selecter would do a fine job of brining a few old-school punks out of the woodwork for their first Australian tour in their almost 40 year existence.

However, the sheer number of brimming Doc Marten-clad baby boomers did their best to unnerve even the most stalwart 22 year old reporter into feeling both a little out of place, and boasting a naïve assumption that this gig may just fall into the let-down category as a result of an ageing and unenergetic crowd.

As the eight-piece took to the stage it suddenly became clear that younger generations of music fans still have a lot to learn.

Across the course of an almost two hour onslaught of flawlessly executed and engaging 2-tone ska, Pauline Black and Arthur Hendrickson controlled the room with a level of expertise gained from almost four decades of experience as the venue erupted.

“The reason we decided to re-form and tour again was because we thought, ‘maybe people had forgotten about 2-tone’?” Black announced between songs, delight clearly etched across her face as the rapturous crowd response affirmed that there was never any risk of this happening.

A poignant interlude saw the band cover Amy Winehouse’s “Back To Black”, a starkly still moment within the room, as Black acknowledged her respect and admiration for Winehouse and the tragedy of losing such a young and gifted musician.

Their most recognised anthems saw the most energised crowd reception, as the band cranked out ‘3 Minute Hero’, only to delve immediately into ‘Missing Words’, the room exploding into a storm of skanking at every saxophone wail and organ stab.

A significant encore saw the group finally submit to calls for ‘Too Much Pressure’, ending their set to a room encapsulated and buzzing, showing no hints towards tiring.

What really stood out about The Selecter seemed to not only be their affinity with their audience, and the almost flawless musical competency of the entire band, but the joy that seemed to be written across the faces of every member.

This is a band that has been playing their own unique brand of music for decades, and had decided to reform not for money, or any additional fame, but for their un-adulterated love of the genre and the obvious fulfilment achieved when given the opportunity to share this with an audience.

Further demonstrating that the sincere honesty, and the message of equality, acceptance and joy that exists within this somewhat overlooked style is still alive and well. Existing as a paradigm to the often sanctimonious and soulless intonations of much of modern music.

Ultimately it was Black herself who most effectively summarised The Selecter as the lights went up on The Corner Hotel stage to a torrent of applause; “thank you Melbourne, now that was 2-tone!”

Check out our photo gallery of The Selecter’s show at The Corner Hotel here.

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