The Wailers at St James

It's just as well the band had somewhere else to go, otherwise the congregation of Marley worshippers crammed into a chocker St James on Tuesday night might still be singing.

But you can't argue with the healing Rastaman vibration that comes from belting out "Don't worry ... 'bout a ting ... 'cause every little ting ... is gonna be all right" into the wee hours.

The Wailers eased into a loping groove as the refrain went round and round before the remarkably convincing Marley Mk 2, Gary Pine, dropped a cool reggae scat over the top.

It was quite something.

But then New Zealand has always kept a special place for Bob and his works, and despite a slight mid-set lull as they dipped into the far reaches of their song book, the crowd stayed right on side and on their feet for the two-hour duration.

In the upper balcony, breaks between songs only meant an opportunity to strike up quick renditions of No Woman, No Cry.

Group mainman and bass player Aston "Family Man" Barrett was a hulking background presence in combat boots and delivered a handful of virtuosic solos, but the man of the match had to go to drummer Ernest Williams.

His stick work was an exercise in overachievement within a confined space as he bobbed and weaved over his highhat and snare, although I can't help but wish the soundman had got deep and dubby during his breakdowns.

Up front, Pine did the dreadlocked business with restraint, yet still managed to woo a maiden who did well to climb from the pit without spilling a drop of beer. Otherwise he seemed reluctant to push too far into the boots he was filling, and left much of the chat to another old school Wailer, Junior Marvin, whose lead work often crossed into Jah Satriani country.

The encore gave us Pine and sisters Roxanne and Marsha crooning an ode to legalising da herb before all 11 players launched into an epic take on Exodus, which morphed in Punky Reggae Party and back again.

Another singalong to Get Up, Stand Up lifted the temperature to Jamaican levels, then we were done and dusted, and everything was indeed all right.

Performance

*Who: The Wailers
*Where: St James
*Reviewer: Alan Perrott