Live at The Purty Loft, Dun Laoghaire

In 2008 Jah Wobble explored Chinese traditional music while giving it his rock treatment in Chinese Dub. He's now doing the same with Japanese traditional music with his new project, The Nippon Dub Ensemble, who finished out the Festival of World Cultures in Dun Laoghaire.

The Public Image Ltd. bassist played tracks from his April release as well as a few tracks from Chinese Dub. He was in top form even though he looked visibly tired: yawning twice during the intense finale of 'No No No' without missing a beat.

Most of the people there were there to see Jah, with many of them wearing fedora hats in tribute. The show started with a duet between Jah and Joji Hirota on the taiko drums. Clive Bell played the shakuhatchi, a traditional Japanese flute. Hirota only played the taiko drums on the first two songs and sang on a third. He didn't appear in the rest of the show, which is a shame, because he played with a great intensity on the drums and sang with spirit, and even did a little throat singing.

Keiko Kitamura played the shamisen and koto. They were poorly mic'd and difficult to hear. I was standing right next to her and could barely hear her playing.

The people came to see Jah Wobble, and that's who they saw, at the top of his form. The Nippon Dub Ensemble wasn't as prominent, and probably worked better on the release than live.