Past On The Border Events

The Conmitments, November 20th, 2009
 
For its first fundraising effort, the On the Border group opted to be unashamedly commercial with The Conmitments, a band who, as the name implies, bring to the stage the classic dance-friendly sounds of Sixties soul, with a misspelt nod towards the film that introduced a whole new generation to the genre, Alan Parker’s 1991 hit The Commitments.
 
By the time the band hit the stage at Knighton’s Community Centre, the 200-strong audience had clearly demonstrated it was in a dancing mood and there were few seats occupied for the band’s two 45 minute sets. High energy blasters like Wilson Pickett’s Mustang Sally, Otis Redding’s Respect and Joe Tex’s Show Me dominated but the band showed they could do smouldering and emotional too with ballads like Try a Little Tenderness and the immortal James Carr hit Dark End of the Street.
 
The band certainly lived up to their claim to be the "hardest working band in Britain" and the audience responded with enthusiasm, calling the band back onstage for several encores.
 
Some nights the mood is just right and, even though it’s cold outside, everyone is up for a party. This turned out to be one of those nights.