Dub Inc ADD

Review: Dub Inc in Munich, Germany @ Ampere - May 2nd 2014

05/04/2014 by Valentin Zill

A concert in Munich is, in a way, a friendly home match for Dub Inc. Sure, France’s no. 1 reggae band is less successful in Germany than back home, where their last album Paradise went to the very top of the mainstream charts. But Dub Inc’s bassist Moritz “DaBaron” von Korff hails from and lives in Munich. His family and friends alone might have been enough to turn the concert into a veritable event, but they were just a fraction of the concertgoers. Many more people showed up to celebrate Dub Inc. Munich’s Ampere was packed.

And the heat was on. From the first second to the last one, Dub Inc floors the accelerator. There’s no warming up the audience, just pure, contagious energy. Tous Ce Qu'Ils Veulent is the first tune they play, and the massive is jumping in the air already. Dos À Dos, Chaque Nouvelle Page, Métissage, Paradise – the temperature inside the club rises quickly. The real surprise is how many in the audience are capable of singing along the lyrics that are mostly in French, and to lesser extents in Kabyle and English. Lead singers Bouchkour and Komlan seem quite staggered from time to time by the ability of their Munich fans to support them. Bouchkour sometimes folds his arms, leans back and smiles contentedly. But neither he nor toaster Komlan let the audience take over the show.

Most patrons seem to be in their twenties, with exceptions in both directions, and everyone’s highly eager to party. Dub Inc is used to performing on the big festival stages of the world, but they connect just as well with their fans in this club setting. Ampere has the intimate ambiance of a jam session with friends. And in a way, this concert is a session with friends. Umberto Echo showed up, he produced Dub Inc’s last albums Paradise and Hors Contrôle. Sara Lugo and Jahcoustix were among those friends of Dub Inc that came to enjoy the show.

Halfway into the concert, the French reggae stars grant us a welcomed moment of relief. The acoustic track Il Faut Qu’On Ose is almost a break from this highly energetic performance. It doesn’t take long until Dub Inc is back on full speed. The massive can’t get enough and forces the band to do a lengthy encore. “München is on fire,” sings the entire club at the end of the show. As if it would have been difficult for one of the most convincing European live bands ever to light up a club. “Dub Inc is on fire.” Everyone agreed.

MUNICH 2014 - LIVE VIDEOS: