MUSIC REVIEW: Jah Wobble’s Chinese Dub, Carling Academy, Liverpool

Jul 7 2008 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

Jah Wobble's Chinese Dub _320

WHILE Duran Duran earned their money for old rope down the road, another 80s legend was also in town, doing something altogether more unexpected.

It was the premiere of Jah Wobble’s Chinese Dub, commissioned by the Culture Company, which proved to be one of the more understated, yet spirited 2008 events so far.

It began with a charming introduction by Liverpool’s own Pagoda Chinese Youth Orchestra, to familiarise the audience with the traditional music that inspired the evening.

After a laborious soundcheck during which the entertainment was seemingly courtesy of invisible DJs, the lengthy wait between sets was eventually worth it.

Jah Wobble and band, including wife Zi Lan Liao, started out with some slower pieces in which the Western intervention was subtle, as some beautiful dancers graced the stage. Gu YingJi, a striking Mongolian singer in stunning costume followed, before Wobble really brought the dub into play, adding a gentle reggae lilt that blurred the genres and really worked well.

Chinese singer Wang Jingqi and more elegant dancers continued to impress as the music went on.

But the piece de resistance was the Sichuan Opera mask change dancers, a flamboyantly costumed trio with a breathtaking skill of switching their colourful silk masks in the blink of an eye.

"I can’t follow that – see ya," Wobble ducked off, before returning twice to perform some dub standards including You Don’t Love Me (No, No, No), accompanied by Gu YingJi, and his own Visions of You.

It could have all been so pretentious, but this is something Jah Wobble clearly wanted other people to enjoy as much as he was. He was in awe of the Chinese entertainers, in charge but laid-back, and the show itself was quite sweetly rough around the edges.

The venue, surprisingly the smaller Academy 2, worked in some ways – giving the crowd space to dance as Wobble had wanted – but it was a terrible choice in the end, leaving many unable to properly see the colourful spectacleon stage, which was a real shame.