Well, what an amazing experience that turned out to be. I was so thrilled and blown away after going to Edinburgh last night to see Jah Wobble & The Invaders of the Heart, and it was really uplifting to have been given the chance to see a band that was formed so long ago.
It was fantastic to be able to see all four of the current members performing at the Voodoo Rooms on Thursday, the 30th of October. These included:
- Jah Wobble: Bass
- Marc Layton-Bennett: Drums
- George King: Keys
- Martin Chung: Guitar
Jah Wobble provocatively kicked this unforgettable experience off with a colourful joke. He was echoing the words used by someone that he had allegedly met before taking to the stage, who said this to him: “You look more like a bouncer than a musician”. He was also told that he was “dirt and you’ll always be dirt”.
The music started with an instrumental intro that excluded voice sounds and included only the keyboard, drums, electric guitars, and bass that each of the artists was individually using. This was followed by a keyboard solo, before the guitars joined in, and then the drums stepped in, causing all of the artists to play together.
I would note that the music became livelier and more like rock n’ roll before moving to a jazzy tone. The music then died down before turning into more like something you would hear in the climax of an action film.
Jah Wobble then started tapping the drums and the bass with his drumsticks; this makes a break from his regular use of an electric guitar throughout the evening. However, he then stopped drumming and went back to playing the guitar.
The invaders of the heart were doing something quite clever with regard to communicating with their audience. On more than one occasion, the music would build up to a wild crescendo before being rejuvenated with a repetition of instrumental verses and choruses.
After that, it would keep stop-starting, signalling an attempt to play a trick on us and make us think that they had finished when we hadn’t. I guess using this approach benefited them enormously, because they just continued to receive rapturous cheering and applause from the crowd every single time it seemed as if they might have finished.
At one point, Jah decided to “apologise” for the use of jazzy music, because it turns out that he doesn’t really like jazz all along. He urged us all to “draw a line under it” and “move on”, although it was clear to us all that he was just making his jokes again.
As well as this, I did hear the Invaders of the Heart playing some rather well-known songs, including the theme tune that was used at the start of many televised Formula 1 broadcasts. A long-time and iconic theme was: The Chain, released by Fleetwood Mac in 1977 and used by the BBC for many years, and this was one of the songs that they played.
Another one of these famous songs that we got to listen to was: The Tide Is High, released in 1980 by Blondie. There was also a memorable moment later in the concert, as Jah Wobble decided to show a softer and kinder side to himself and give an Invader of the Heart Employee of the Month award to his fellow guitarist, Martin Chung.
Those in the audience were utterly delighted with this and kept on clamouring at him to make a speech in response. They were continuously chanting and shouting out the word “speech” very loudly indeed, but he never complied with their demand, much to their disappointment.
So, that’s why I had such a great time at the concert that I was so proud to attend last night. I really look forward to extending this incredible experience in the future by showing my face at any further wonderful music events like this one.
