Combining global music, reggae, fusion and punk influences, Jah Wobble has entranced the world with his hypnotic bass riffs for over four decades and has become one of Britain’s most influential and distinct bass players. Accompanied by his band, Invaders of the Heart, Jah Wobble is reborn into a new decade as defiant as ever with a brand new UK tour...
I'm not going to lie, Jah Wobble is one of my personal music heroes and the chance to see him play a more modern take on the iconic tracks from the Metal Box album by Pil was a no brainer.
I'm stood inside the Rescue Rooms wondering how many folks would turn up and the age ranges. I was not disappointed, the room was packed and all ages covered including old punks, young punks, post punks, reggae/dub lovers, a bit of goth, a bit of indie, a bit of this and a bit of that.....all bases were covered and the music fans waited eagerly for the performance to begin.
With no nonsense or grandiose statements, John Wardle aka Jah Wobble and his band The Invaders Of The Heart simply walked on stage, plugged in and started playing the enormous sounding track Albatross. Huge slabs and almost brutal stabs of modal bass lines dominated the evening locking in with ultra rock steady drum beats from Marc Layton-Bennett, breath-taking angular guitar sounds from special guest John Klein (formerly Siouxsie And The Banshees guitarist) alongside the Invaders guitarist Martin Chung, gave a masterclass in how to connect with an audience. Not forgetting keys supreme George King on synth sounds, who almost didn't get past security earlier on and tried to convince them that he had a pass to get in!
I think they covered every track from the Metal Box album and several from the first Pil album, relentless bass and drums for the others in the band to work with, giving an almost intimate performance that the audience appreciated.
Jah Wobble has a love of music and shows a real humility for the folks who give him their time, he asked for our positive energy to be directed towards the musicians and in return they would give their energy back to us. Sounds kind of trippy-hippy but it worked and you could feel the positive vibes throughout the Rescue Rooms that evening.
In the blink of several eyes they left the stage and thanked everyone for turning out for the show, but the crowd did not allow it to end there and an encore took them well past the night's curfew with various songs from The Invaders Of The Heart repertoire and even a track centring around the bass riff from Chain by Fleetwood Mac.
Phew, this felt like an all night party was happening! ...But all good things must come to an end and this time they left the stage for good. Catch them throughout October and November and then into 2024 throughout the UK for a must see performance. Miss it and you will truly miss out.
Jah Wobble performed at Rescue Rooms on 26 October 2023
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