CityLife

Jah Wobble

Jah Wobble & The Nippon Dub Ensemble
Ruby Lounge
July 29, 2010

It probably hasn’t escaped your attention that former Sex Pistol rent-a-quote frontman John Lydon has hit the reunion circuit again, this time with post-punk outfit Public Image Limited.

And whilst the reviews might be favorable, this current line up is missing one of its most vital early components - the deep dub inspired bass-quake of Jah Wobble.

Lydon and co. might be content in reliving their younger years; Wobble (John Wardle away from the spotlight) however rarely stays on the same musical page for long.

Prolific forays into a host of world music styles since the late Eighties, recently self-styled ‘geezer’ Wobble has been bridging the musical chasm between Chinese-Japanese modes and instrumentation with the deep grooves of dub and reggae.

Setting the scene with onstage flower arranging, traditional eastern percussion and woodwind instruments next to Wobble’s massive bass rig (which spectacularly breaks down only 4 songs in), tracks such as Cherry Blossom Of My Youth and a heavy dub reworking of Dawn Penn’s You Don’t Love Me seem to flow better than reasonably they should.

With Wobble directing throughout songs soon extend into flowing eclectic esoteric improvisations, carried along by the sturdy four-string playing of Wobble, who looks to be enjoying every second of this (adopted) homecoming gig.

Closing with a somewhat consentration-testing jam, we’re left to ponder where this lovable geezers muse will next take him.
 

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