Often, when going to a live performance, music fans know already what to expect, in terms of songs that are going to be played on stage by a band, the style in which said songs are going to be played and sometimes, even the setlist of the whole show.
Rather fortunately though, this is something that almost never applies to some, especially to the British Dub King and bass guitar Maestro Jah Wobble, performing tonight at the historical Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis, a splendid coastal town in the Southwest of the United Kingdom.
Wobble is not alone on stage, tonight, supported by his trusted side project band called the Invaders Of The Heart, a collective with whom Wobble has been playing, in terms of the current line-up, for more than a decade, forming a perfect musical bond with the band members George King on keyboards and backing vocals, Martin Chung on guitars and Marc Layton-Bennett on drums, percussions and backing vocals.
For who has known John Wardle (a.k.a. Jah Wobble) for a few decades not only as the phenomenal musician he is but also as a devoted supporter of football, the British Bass Guitar Guru was amply excused tonight, about starting the show a few minutes later than expected, given the fact that the team he supports was involved in a very important match, which ended up not positively for Wobble's team.
The crowd at the Marine Theatre, though, was amply compensated for the slight delay to the start of the show; in the next hour and 45 minutes that follows, Jah Wobble and The Invaders Of The Heart will absolutely delight the very appreciative fans present here tonight, with a live set showing an artist and his collective delivering a breathtaking performance of the highest level.
From the get-go, it is very clear that the sonic flux among all the musicians on stage is very organic and flows really smoothly from the beginning to the end of the show. The Invaders Of The Heart follow perfectly the many changes of musical direction taking place tonight with effortless musicianship, while Jah Wobble delights the Marine Theatre's crowd with some inspired bass lines commanding beautifully the shapeshifting sound of the collective, cutting and pasting, together with his band, layers of Jazz, Dub, Ambient, Rock, 70's Psychedelia and even Heavy Metal in the most captivating and explosive fashion.
Wobble is one of those very rare artists at 360 degrees, who embraces Art in its totality. On stage, occasionally he would introduce at any point of the show some of his sonnets (yes, Jah Wobble writes poetry too!), sometimes midway of an instrumental piece or before introducing songs, with tonight's fans responding enthusiastically to his multi-faceted artistic demonstrations on stage.
Musically, tonight's performance revisits some of the most inspired career moments of Jah Wobble as a solo artist and also with his very talented The Invaders Of the Heart, touching also at times on Wobble's time with Public Image Limited, particularly on some of P.I.L. most celebrated songs, among which Socialists, Poptones, Fodderstompf and a fabulous Dub-Rock version of Public Image got the biggest cheers from the audience.
Throughout the show, Jah Wobble's talent shines through and through ever so brilliantly, with a true commanding presence on stage, engaging both his musicians and the crowd with gusto, ensuing little hilarity here and there with intelligence but, most importantly, showing his loving fans tonight that, at the age of 67, Wobble is still a hugely talented artist that drives his music and his inspiration to different level of artform with enormous creativity and forward-thinking attitude.
There were a lot of smiles, tonight, on and off the stage, proving that the bond between Jah Wobble and his fans is stronger than ever, as amply proven by tonight's incredible live performance.
