Legendary reggae band to employ the hits at Encore Theater
There was never a “before” moniker for UB40.
“Funnily enough, we never had any other name,” founding member and drummer Jimmy Brown says. “I can’t even remember that we had that bigger discussion about it.”
The band’s longtime fans — and there are multitudes — know the name arrives from being out of work.
“UB stands for unemployment benefits,” Smith reminds during a phone call from “And it’s Form 40, which is what you hand over every week to get your checks. We were all unemployed, and somebody said, ‘Why don’t you just use that name, UB40? And we thought it was as good a name as any.”
The band has since itself been as good as any, especially in the reggae culture, the top-selling band in that genre of all time. UB40 is making its Encore Theater debut at 8 p.m. Sunday.
Brown, guitarist/vocalist and band co-founder Robin Campbell, Earl Falconer (bass, vocals) and Norman Hassan (percussion, trombone, vocals) are the center of the band these days. Lead vocalist Matt Doyle has been primary singer for the past four years.
Even casual fans are familiar with No. 1 hits “Red Red Wine” and “(I Can’t Help) Falling in Love With You;” and U.S. top-10 singles “Here I Am (Come and Take Me)” and “The Way You Do The Things You Do.”
“Obviously, you’re going to hear the big hits, and we have some pretty big ones,” Brown says. “But we’re going to be doing some new stuff as well, from the last album, ‘UB45.’”
Brown has not tired of his chosen genre. You can feel him smiling through the phone chat.
“For a start, reggae is inclusive, moms and dads will find it equally as attractive as young kids,” the 67-year-old drummer says. “Its listenable music, it’s not music that pushes anybody away. If you were drawing a Venn diagram (those overlapping circles), I think that all overlap to some degree on reggae.”
‘Showgirl’ is a lot more work
Column fave (though she’s an avid Philadelphia Eagles fan) Christina Shaw says, “Every time an album drops, the gigs go up.” She speaks of Taylor Swift’s latest release, “The Life of a Showgirl.” Shaw has performed a terrific Swift tribute for a decade, most recently prior to Friday’s Golden Knights-Sharks preseason tilt at T-Mobile Arena.
Shaw was booked for about a 15-minute set at T-Mobile’s Hyde Nightclub (where you cannot hide). She is also the co-host of a great fantasy-league podcast, “Our Vegas Fantasy,” with Vegas showman Kenny Davidsen. These two know their stuff, entertainment-wise and NFL-wise.
May we recommend …
Billy Stritch’s “All For You” one-man show at 6 p.m. Sunday at Myron’s, and the Jim Caruso-Stritch “Cast Party” open-mic show at the venue on Oct. 24. Stritch can play anything, Caruso is a classically talented showman and a favorite among the Vegas entertainment community.
These two are also big at The Crazy Coqs in London, where we saw them a couple of weeks ago. Go to thesmithcenter.com for intel.
Tease this …
We’ll have an update this weekend on an international production with constructive ambitions for VegasVille …
Great line …
That just came to mind. I once asked veteran entertainment pro and Vegas native David Saxe if his V Theater and Saxe Theater were spelled with an “er” or “re” at the end.
“E-R,” he said. “We’re not in France.”
Cool Hang Alert
This is the Cool Hang in which acrobats are actually hanging from things. This is also the first circus-related CHA, as the UNLV Performing Arts Center launches its 49th season at Ham Hall at 2 p.m. Saturday with Cirque Mechanics’ “Tilt!—A Circus Thrill Ride.”
The show is set in the ’80s, an homage to America’s famed amusement parks. Expect acrobatics, aerial artistry, juggling and (I can only hope) plate-spinning. A Ferris wheel is in the middle of the scene. All of it on stage. It’s a whole thing. Fun for the entire family, meaning yours, and and also others’. Go to unlv.edu/pac for intel.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
