Evening
On Friday the 30th of December 2022, I saw UB40 perform at the Bowl of Brooklands located in New Plymouth, NZ.
Joining me at the concert was my mum, dad & brother. I was a tad apprehensive going in as I thought UB40 might be past their live performance use-by-date, in addition Red Red Wine is really the only UB40 song I know.
My brother and I went halves on a hash biscuit just before entering the venue.
Band
UB40 are an English reggae band which formed in 1978. For twenty-eight years the line-up of musicians remained stable, but in 2008 frontman Ali Campbell had a dispute with his brother Stephen Campbell (guitar). Ali and a few other members departed, but UB40 remain touring to this day.
The band consists of:
Robin Brown - guitar, vocals
Jimmy Brown - drums
Earl Falconer - bass, vocals
Norman Hassan - percussion, trombone, vocals
Matt Doyle - lead vocals, guitar
Accompanying touring musicians:
Laurence Parry - trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone
Martin Meredith - saxophone, keyboard
Tony Mullings - keyboard
Ian Thompson - saxophone
Bowl of Brooklands
Bowl of Brooklands is a natural amphitheatre with a lake in front of the stage, it boasts a capacity of around 15,000 people.
The atmosphere at the venue is extremely relaxed! It is a perfect venue for music such as reggae, world and acoustic. The family-friendly vibe means the age range of attendees is large.
Vocals in the supporting act (Jefferson Starship) were a bit quiet at times, particularly Jude Gold’s vocals, which was a shame because Jude is an incredible vocalist and still kicks arse at a mature age.
However, UB40’s sound drifted upwards throughout the amphitheatre entering one’s senses like a full-bodied wine. It was a very rich and complete harmony of brass, string and percussion.
Beer was $10 a can.
Performance
For the first 30 minutes or so, UB40 just jammed! The brass & bongo section really enhanced the flavour of the music, and they played like seasoned veterans who have outgrown merely playing songs to an audience.
Instead, it appeared UB40 were able to walk on stage and play as if they were experimenting with some new tune, but made it sound polished and ready for listening consumption. - Quite incredible really.
The crowd was up and dancing, little children were running around and geriatrics were smoking joints, peace and love could be felt drifting with the music.
Thoughts
UB40 exceeded my expectations, they have been around since 1978 and still can deliver an awesome and fun live performance.
Bowl of Brooklands is a fantastic venue, in this setting I felt UB40 were able to inspire a feeling of serenity to the audience. One could not have asked for a better combination of band + venue.
Admittedly, the hash brownie and copious amount of alcohol consumed assisted with my feelings of inner peace, but the gig also took place between Christmas and New Year so it’s a period of time meant for spending with family and loved ones.
Final Rating
Band: 4/5 (really good)
Venue: 5/5 (amazing)
Evening: 4/5 (really good)
Rating System
1 (bad); 2 (not bad); 3 (good); 4 (really good); 5 (amazing)