The Spitz, London
24th July 2000
First off, any further mention of the fact that Dry & Heavy are a Japanese Reggae band can largely be dispensed with; so they are Japanese, not Jamaican. Well, there are Reggae and Dub groups from all over now – the Czech Republic, the Basque Country, Texas even. Other than to say of course that this particular set have got the format sussed pretty much completely, apart from maybe the boonie hats some of them seem to have adopted as a kind of identifying headgear. Well, that’s possibly quite Japanese.
Anyhow, after along wait for the band to show up on stage, during which time the arriving trickle of audience numbers are ably entertained by Dry & Heavy’s label stalwart Pete Holdsworth and his collection of classic Reggae and Ska vinyl both old and new, they finally arrive to the short but enthusiastic introduction of none other than their other UK parton, Adrian Sherwood. The core are of course Shigemoto “Dry” Nanao on drums and Takehashi “Heavy” Akimoto with his Fender bass. Did anyone mention Sly & Robbie? Well, the comparison seems quite apt, and this rhythm section put out a steady beat and flowing, deep bass as the rock-steady foundation for the ensemble’s upbeat set tonight.
With Ao Inoue and Likkle Mai sharing the vocal duties when not dancing enthusiastically offstage, the string of songs and instrumentals rides on elegantly-effected melodies from Kel Horriguchi’s skanking guitar and the stabbing electric piano and synth emulations emanating from Mitsuhiro Toike‘s Korg (though he does have an actual electric organ from the same maker racked together with the digital beast too), all drawn into the mixing desk for heavy dubwise echo effects. The sound itself is generally adequate, but could have had a better mix on the vocals, but the bass reverberates the fixtures and fittings nicely, the treble is nicely clear; and the occasional clouds of interesting herbal smoke make for a congenial atmosphere.
Much of the set is drawn from the new Full Contact album, though there are welcome appearances from the previous years’ “Radical Star” and their sweetly-joyous “Dawn Is Breaking”, and each song’s applause is received with polite thank yous and infectious, if somewhat restrained, enthusiasm. Dry & Heavy are an marvellously-polished group, and their assured concentration on the no-nonsense rhythms and elegantly-crafted tunes is received with warm applause and a genuinely-demanded encore. Reggae enters its fifth decade in greatly diversified form, enriched by one of some of its more dignified exponents of the weighty heartbeat bass and footstepping drums, delivered up with the same authentic one love it ever was, wherever it may originate.
-Antron S. Meister-
