Jah Wobble

Grauzone Festival (http://www.grauzonefestival.com/act/jahwobble)
Melkweg (The Max)
Amsterdam

31st January 2014 (2014-01-31)


RECORDING:

Type: Audience master, recorded 4 metres back from the suspended left-hand
side PA stack.

Source: Factory-matched pair of Schoeps CCM 41V microphones (DINa mounted) ->
Marantz PMD661 recorder with Oade Concert Mod
(-18 dB gain/44.1 kHz/24 bit WAV)

Lineage: Audacity 2.0.5
* Amplified right channel by 0.6 dB.
* Applied variable envelope amplification across recording for
consistent listening experience.
* Added fades.
* Split tracks.
* Converted to 16 bit.
-> FLAC (compression level 8) [libFLAC 1.3.0 20130526]

Taper: Ian Macdonald (ianmacd)


SET LIST:

01. [04:49] [unknown] (abridged)
02. [07:56] [unknown]
03. [04:28] [unknown]
04. [02:36] Wili (Part 1)
05. [05:32] Wili (Part 2)
06. [00:24] [banter]
07. [04:02] Java (Part 1)
08. [00:28] [banter]
09. [02:48] Java (Part 2)
10. [01:25] [banter]
11. [11:13] How Much Are They?/Invaders Of The Heart
12. [00:28] [banter]

Total running time: 46:13

NOTES:

Jah Wobble kicks off this second edition of Grauzone, "delivering the finest
tracks from the time he spent with PiL and his dub/wave solo-work". At least,
that's what the festival blurb promises is in store for us.

Only, Wobble's not having any of it. His band instead play a very jazzy set,
their only concession to what the festival organisers were hoping for being
that they bow out on a jazzed up mash of 'How Much Are They?' and 'Invaders Of
The Heart'.

Whilst the set lacks the post-punk that Wobble is probably best known for,
it's an enjoyable, raucous jam of a set, featuring loose covers of Miles
Davis' 'Wili' and a run-through of Augustus Pablo's 'Java'. Sean Corby's
impassioned trumpet-playing is a highlight throughout.

Unfortunately, the band kick off their set while I'm still in the toilet,
setting up my gear. I hear the muffled cheer of the crowd as Wobble and
cohorts come on stage.

The band's slot has been brought forward fifteen minutes, but no-one informed
me, so I miss the first three minutes or so of the first piece. Being
something of a taping perfectionist, I almost bail on recording any of it, but
quickly decides that this would be folly. Better to capture 95% of the set
than nothing at all.

The sound in the venue was absolutely superb and the recording dutifully
captures the fact.

The set-list, such as it is, was assembled from Wobble's comments on stage.
Any supplementary information or corrections would be gratefully received.

As always, samples are attached to the torrent to allow you to decide whether
this is something for you.