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Okay it wasn't Underworld, but Adrian Sherwood hosted his "Dub Sessions: Volume Three" at Shibuya's O-East on Friday night with special guests The Slits and the show was everything its name implied "a varied (ahem) mix of reggae rhythms and pounding bass frequencies, with a bit of a mid-show high." I have to say that the 6 pm get-off-early-from-work-and-hit-the-train start time wasn't really the brightest move on the organizer's part, but thank goodness for Likkle Mai. The Japanese dub-mistress laid down a head-bobbing groove from a DJ booth to the side of the stage that allowed the steady influx of people to let their dreads down and suck down a few beers as they got into the rhythm of things. (Though this is kind of not true: while one would assume an abundance of dreadlocked pseudo-hippies at one these events, there was in fact a distinct lack of dreadlocks in attendance "and marijuana smoke and patchouli, too)." 
Things got under way just before seven o'clock when little miss Lickle gave the stage over to Japanese dub trio Killer Sister. These girls laid down some heavy bass-drums-keys live dub that certainly gained the attention of everybody there. A cross section of people it was, too, with just as many suits and ties gathered as hemp hats and The Who, The Clash, Warren Zevon and Misfits tees. They all bobbed up and down in a relaxed pulse as the Killer Sisters played a decent "if stereotypical" set filled with dub-biquitous short keyboard/kazoo scales and sirens. (Dub music seems to me to have a real obsession with sirens − maybe it's like sliding a pick down the guitar strings in heavy metal.)I was expecting Ari-Up and the rest of her cohorts to take the stage after the local openers, but after a short break Adrian Sherwood came out to man the decks at the front of the stage. It was approximately 7:30 and probably the first time I've seen a paying crowd for a DJ this early. The dance floor, or really, the area just in front of the stage, was crowded. I wandered up to the mezzanine floor to get a beer and perhaps a different view, but the balcony areas were full so I sat on the steps where I could see both Mr.Sherwood and do some active people watching. 
Sherwood moved seamlessly through his set, head down and focused on the tracks (or is that "trax"?), bobbing and weaving with the rhythm, occasionally picking up the mic to promo the Dub Sessions or The Slits. Other times it was digitally processed and heavily reverbed shout-outs to artists on his On-U Sounds label whose songs he dropped, such as Lee Scratch Perry. It was a good solid 45-minute set the crowd seemed to enjoy, but I couldn't help but feel it was a little too early in the evening for the mellower dub sounds "it was, after all, a Friday night in Shibuya". And while the crowd was clearly enjoying the groove, there wasn't any actual, um, "dancing".Things changed, however, after his set. He informed us that he would be playing again, but first he wanted to bring out his special guests − The Slits, whom he would also be mixing from the sound booth. Within ten minutes the crowd started to press toward the stage and it became clear whom they had come to see. When most of the group took to the stage and started up "NO on guitar, co-founder Tessa Pollitt still on bass, Hollie Cook (N.B. for those that care: daughter of Sex Pistol Paul Cook) on keys and backing vox, and Anna Schulte manning her cool low rise drums" the audience gave a cheer. They churned out a simple warm up intro until Ari-Up's voice emerged over the sound (with her not far behind) asking how all the typical girls and typical boys were doing. Now everybody really came alive as The Slits jumped headlong into one of their more famous songs, the obvious crowd pleaser "Typical Girls". If the crowd had been reserved and mellow for Adrian and the opening acts, then they were as near to lively as they could be for the gals from Strummerville. The change in energy was remarkable and Ari-Up kept them well entertained, if bemused, with her hahahahahahaaaaaa vocal deliveries and the way she bounced about the staged. I think the gold lame pants and tied up dreadlocks added to her antics and was just in step with her enjoyable performance. They ran through some classic material from the seventies as well as songs from their new album Revenge of the Killer Slits with enough energy for all the previous performers. Adrian Sherwood came back out afterward to complete the Dub Sessions with more stuff from his upcoming project with Lee Perry, but there was a definite lull in the energy. It was a shame Ari-Up and friends had to play in the middle, as it would have been nice to go out on a high with The Slits as we headed out into the Tokyo night, or the Shib Sessions, our heads filled with a new soundtrack. |
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report by jeff and photos by Masataka Ishida
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 mag files : The Slits Dubnobasswithmyhead...man : (07/10/26 @ Shibuya O East : review by jeff, photos by Masataka Ishida |
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The official site The Slits http://theslits.co.uk/ check 'em? -->MySpace / iTunes The related site ON U Sound Likkle Mai (MySpace) The latest work  "Revenge of the Killer Slits" (US import / UK import[7 inch Analog] / iTunes) |
The re-issue album "Cut" (US import / US importt[12 inch Analog] / 国内盤+2tracks / iTunes) previous works
"The Return of the Giant Slits" (UK import)
"大地の音 (The Return of the Giant Slits)" (国内盤) "In the Beginning (A Live Anthology)" (UK import / US import[12 inch Analog] / iTunes) "Live at the Gibus Club" (US import) "イン・ザ・ビギニング-アライヴ・アンソロジー 1977-81" (国内盤) "The Peel Sessions" (UK import) ...and more check the albums? |
 2007Dubnobasswithmyhead...man : Adrian Sherwood & The Slits (26th Oct. @ Shibuya O East)Juliette Gets Her Licks In : Juliette & The Licks (20th May. @ Liquidroom, Ebisu)Clap Your Hands Say Tokyo Police Club : Tokyo Police Club (1st May. @ Harajuku Astro Hall) |