Jah Wobble @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 7/24/24

 

Bill: Jah Wobble

Venue: Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY

Date: 7/24/24

Door: $35

Headliner: Jah Wobble

Latest Release: A Brief History of Now (Cleopatra, 2023)

Active Solo: 1980 (London, UK; Public Image Limited 1978-1980)

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65 year old bass player PiL legend Jah Wobble was in town with his band The Invaders of The Heart.  He is insanely prolific to the point he was touring and playing mostly from 2021's Metal Box-Rebuilt In Dub which was a reworking of the seminal Public Image Ltd Metal Box release in a film can (Second Edition in the US in a traditional gatefold those cheap bastards)  He was also selling his latest from last year, A Brief History of Now.  As you can see from Discogs he has dozens and dozens of albums, various bands, collaborations and so forth.  Though he did a version of "Public Image" and I may very well prefer that album for easy listening, Metal Box stands alone for what it is.

Somehow I never saw Wobble before.   I went with my friend Danny who I tried to get a shirt for last night and failed, but he sated himself with Wobble's shirt.  Danny last saw Jah a year or two before the pandemic at the Bowery Ballroom and noted before the show it was half full then and noted with a sparse room at the 8pm showtime without opener was much too early.  This proved to be the case since as the show progressed the room seemed much fuller so I doubt he'll be banished to a smaller venue next time he is in town.

As for the show, Wobble was great doing much of Metal Box including the hit "Poptones."  He also did a instrumental version of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" focusing on the good part.  If you take a look at how people post his set lists (this one nobody took a shot as of this writing), the collaboration he did with Sinead O'Connor, "Visions Of You" is the one everybody lists probably because he announces it.

At 65 Wobble jumps around, does an occasional dance routine and mostly plays bass befitting of a band leader known for playing bass.

What more could you want?  Don't say Johnny Rotten he wasn't gonna be there.