Crack

Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry is a whirlwind of an artist. An absolute one-man reggae tour de force, Perry is now entering his sixtieth year of recording and shows no lack of exuberance or panache.

Tonight’s gig at the Colston Hall starts in a rather bizarre manner with The Lord’s Prayer - a no less apt or respectful way to start a reggae proceeding of the highest order. While stopping short of comparing Perry to any kind of deity, he is revered in this genre at a level where in his latter years, (Perry is 74) one could call Perry the king of reggae.

60 albums of solo and collaborative material make Perry one of the most prolific recording artists of all-time. With an output of more than one record a year, one cannot accuse him of sitting on his thrown with any degree of stagnation. Perry just keeps making music.

Perry’s slightly irreverent personality is on full-show tonight. Taking to the stage with dyed red hair, a baseball cap with more bling than any modern day R’n’B honcho and a multi-coloured jacket and trousers, Perry’s trademark nutty dress-sense was in full effect.

With an announcement at the start of the gig that he would play for as long as he felt like, you soon realise there are only a handful of artists on the planet that can command this kind of self-biased performance. Despite costing a pretty penny, the gig tonight is well attended and full of fans committed to seeing their idol in action. Perry's last gig in Bristol was some 15 years ago, so those seeing him tonight are doing so with much anticipation. Credit has to go to the Colston Hall for making such a bold booking.

Perry rolls through classics, such as Soul Fire, Exodus and an extended version of Fire In Babylon while managing to engage in some hip-to-hip dancing with a willing young lady and some more appropriate jigging with a young boy from the crowd. The party vibe is maintained throughout, with his 10-strong band commanding the stage and a real sense that you could be witnessing one of the last performances from Perry, before the hourglass of time starts to affect him to the detriment of his beloved reggae music.

This makes those who soaked up tonight’s performance (and Perry’s unbelievable outfit) all the happier on their way home.


Tune: Corn Fish Dub

http://www.myspace.com/leescratchperry

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