LEE SCRATCH PERRY | LIVE REVIEW
Portland House, Cardiff Bay, Sun 5 Apr
The Original Upsetter, Lee Scratch Perry, has no limit in his old age. Whilst many are quick to question his sanity (including Scratch himself, given his fairly outright testimony in I Am A Madman), the 78-year-old reggae veteran arrived in Cardiff, vibrant as ever and ready to give Cardiff’s newest – and most lavishly decorated – music venue Portland House a righteous dub-infused christening.
Opening act Stephen Russel provided a mellow, subdued acoustic set, which proved ideal as the crowd slowly flitted into the former bank vault. Closing his set with a cover of Gregory Isaacs’ Night Nurse, Russel provided a fitting tribute given the mood of music ahead.
Next up and main support act was soul-reggae vocalist, Nakisha Esnard. Armed with a ukulele and backed up by a double bassist and a keyboardist, Esnard delivered a beautiful yet upbeat performance, combining powerful soul with head-bopping reggae, whilst the ukulele added a rather wonderful Caribbean-hula vibe. She later made a point of saying, “Have you seen many ukuleles at a reggae gig? It makes a nice island twist, don’t you think?”
After much anticipation, Scratch finally appeared: vivid as ever in his silver encrusted cap and dyed red hair, and accompanied by his illustrious band, the Upsetters. During a recent interview, Lee was asked where the name Scratch had originated, responding, “If you feel something you scratch it, but if you don’t have any feeling, that mean you’re not alive”. And this clearly resonated with Scratch throughout his performance as he embraced the crowd – eager to shake hands with as many as he could and even share his drink with one or two. Similarly, at one point during the gig, Lee began to preach, “God bless the women who create the babies” – at which point he pulled two preteen youngsters on stage with him.
As expected, Lee’s set contained numerous Bob Marley hits, including Sun Is Shining (which actually first appeared on 1971’s Soul Revolution, an album Lee produced), and Jah Live. Lee’s own heavyweight tune – the aforementioned I Am A Madman – was also chucked in for good measure, before finishing on a bit of classic Bob with Exodus.
words DANIEL MULLER photos MORGAN DEVINE