The Reggae Meltdown @ Bournemouth Opera House

Advertised as `The Reggae Meltdown` this event was a real pleasure to attend and one of the best venues I`ve ever seen.....

First the history of the building....It started life in 1895 as the `Boscombe Grand Theatre` part of `The Royal Arcade`. Opening it`s doors for the first time on May 27th 1895 and offered a variety of entertainment including singing, dancing, comedy and musical productions. In 1905 it was re-opened as `The Boscombe Hippodrome` and it became a popular music hall venue during the 1930`s and 1940`s. From 1956 it was known as `Royal Arcade Ballrooms` hosting legendary acts such as `Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and David Bowie until the mid 70`s when it became `Tiffany`s` it`s first incarnation as a nightclub. In 1982 it opened it`s doors as `The Academy` and continued until 1997 when it got the name `Opera House`. This was when the famous `Slinky International` dance brand made it`s name. Now in 2007 it has had a multi million pound restoration and the result is a blend of style, grandeur mixed with 21st century technology which makes it one of the best venues around, not only in the Southwest region but in the UK.

We got to the Opera House at about 7pm and when you enter the main doors you walk up a corridor with a feeling that you are about to enter some 5 star hotel which opens into a impressive main hall full of coloured lights that are randomly changing...WOW......... We had a good look around checking out the view from the balcony and such. Tunes were playing through the system and the quality of sound was amazing.......

First up then was a local band `Dubheart` who began playing what you would expect, Dub tracks. I was not familiar with any of their tunes but they gave a solid rootsy performance which all the crowd enjoyed and they set the night off in the right vibe and direction for sure....

Next up we were treated to the upfull sounds that are `Pama International`. As described else were in ours reviews section `Pama` are real party animals, playing their wicked blend of Ska/Dub sounds. Finishing their set with `Message To Rudie`which nearly brought the house down. They`re the kind of band that if you stand still you`ll be the odd one out...Ya just gotta move to `Pama`...

Third band to take the stage was `Easy Star All Stars`. I`m not really sure what to make of these.They are for me a strange blend of music,yet very good at it. Some tracks i could relate to in a reggae way yet others were well off the mark for me. The response for them from the crowd was good so i put this down to personal musical tastes on my part and do not take away from the band that they are good at what they do...if you like it....

The final band of the night and the one that i believe most had come to see was `The Wailers`. Having seen `Bob marley & The Wailers` live twice i find this difficult to review. Bob had such a stage presence that without him singing his songs any one else is just paying homage to Bob and his music in my mind. Two originals in the band to my knowledge...The bass of `Aston `Familyman` Barret` and the lead guitar of `Al Anderson`, who at times sounded like he was playing a different track to every one else. That said everyone loved them as they worked through many of Bob`s famous songs too the delight of the crowd, which was now over 1100 people and ranged in age from 18 to 70 and bringing the night to a close with every one on a high....

To sum up then.... the night was a great success all round... good acts, good people and friendly atmosphere. Big respect to `James Brennan and all involved with this event at the `Opera House`. The venue as I`ve said is amazing (believe me, check it out) and i hope to attend and review many more in the future. (hint)

Reviewed By `idread`.

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