Heart of a Punk Soul of a Rasta

Seven Seals @ The Severn Cellars?

Last night I went to the Severn Cellars (nee THE BUTTERMARKET) in Shrewsbury to see Mr Dennis Matumbi Dub Master Bovell. He and his Dub Band ensemble were wonderfully wonderful and everyone there had a jolly good time. But hey! Where the f**k were you?!!!!

Yes it was my first visit to the freshly re-pointed brickwork of the all new, revamped and tarted up Severn Cellars (nee THE BUTTERMARKET). It's always is going to be the Buttermarket for me in the same way as the Hammersmith Odeon will always be the Hammersmith Odeon and not the Hammersmith something beginning with A. But that aside, there's something about this revamp I don't understand. Why, after spending all that KA$H on making the Buttermarket cellars brickwork look so fine and dandy, have they let those DJ's from Wolverhampton loose on it? In the middle of a "Twinkle Brothers" track they cranked up the bass thresholds way beyond maximum. My drink began to pulsate; my endoskeleton rattled inside its prison of flesh and sinew; my brain bounced like a pink blancmange inside my skull and the newly applied mortar began to eviscerate. It gently cascaded down from between the bricks to gathering in a neat film upon my bald head. Now I know what its like to be jublified! Thankfully Dennis turned up and things were able to get a great deal mellower.

Now there is not much that DB hasn't done in his musical career as producer, singer, musician and songwriter via Matumbi, the seminal Slits "CUT" LP, the Babylon film, Linton Kwesi Johnson, the Lovers Rock record label, Silly Games (yes yes), I-Roy, The DUB Band etc etc. But tonight it was predominately stuff from his 2006 part retro, part revamped, part new "All Over the World" Dub Band album. Somehow he got a brass section of three, guitarist, violinist, drummer, keyboard player and himself onto the Cellars stage, and launched into "Bettah" with his customary Tarzan YELL.

From his latest release we had the tongue tangling "Dub Master" "Pow Wow" and his parental plea "Oh Mama Oh Papa" - we also had some Lover's Rock stuff (but I have to admit I don't know much about Lovers Rock, as my wife will testify where a heart should be I have nothing but a swinging brick).

The warmth, vibe and the consummate excellence of the Bovell and the Dub Band was such I was to ignore the fact that: THERE JUST WASN'T ENOUGH PEOPLE THERE! After a short pause for Dennis to take on three shots of Whiskey to sufficiently oil the joints of his bass plucking fingers, the band played a massive ten minute slice of Jazz Reggae taken from the "Babylon" film soundtrack with each band member getting a moment in the mix. Even though it's only early 2010 I'm guessing there won't be many moments to outclass this one in the months ahead.

For "All Over the World" go here