After seeing Irie Ites at Dub N The Creek I got the chance to see them again in an even more intimate setting at Culture Yard in Seattle, exactly one week later. If you've never been to Culture Yard, it's a house in the middle of relatively undustrial block in Fremont down by the water. You enter along the side of the house into the backyard and shows are down in the bassment. Yes, I intentionally spelled it that way because no matter what sound system is on hand, the bass is heavy at Culture Yard.

Anyway, while I was in the yard talking to some people and having a medi, up walked Irie Ites. We got to have a 15 or 20 minute conversation about their unique studio in France outside of Le Mans. Artists come stay at their compound and record music while they're there, hence the plethora of dubplates these guys are able to get. We chatted about the growth of Irie Ites and how they incredibly had all four members performing in four different parts of the world the weekend prior and how unique that is. These guys clearly LOVE reggae/dub music and they live and breathe it every single day. So much so that Afternu straight up told me, "I don't care if how many people show up, I'm going to play for the people that want to hear it." What a great attitude; these guys are not only pros, they're fans and they 100% are about sharing the music and spreading the culture.

When the set started, Manu immediately began playing from his dubplate collection again, doing a very different set from what I seen at Dub N The Creek. While he definitely played some of the same songs, the vibe was different and he just kept thinking of new song's he wanted to play, many of which are unreleased and I certainly had never heard before. He would be toward the end of a song and he'd say into the mic, "I have a song I'd like to share with you, can I share a song with you I think you'll like?" And on would come another rarity. It was so dope. Several times, when playing a particularly hard-hitter, he would have his face right down next to his pull-up button so he could press it with his mic hand. With his finger hovering over the button he'd say, "Do you want me to pull up for you?" When the crowd would yell he'd say, "Ok, I'm going to pull up for you," pushing the button, pulling up, and smiling at the crowd. He so obviously enjoys himself playing for the people, and I couldn't help but be pulled along, laughing at every antic, and screwing my face to every song.

By the end of the show at 2pm (he was supped to play till 12:45!) there were only 5 of us left, but Irie Ites was still going strong and having the time of his life—as were we! He had to be forced to stopped and even after saying two more songs, he couldn't help but playing a third. It was amazing.

After both of these shows, I'm strongly considering travelling to France to see these guys perform on their home turf; I can only imagine what the energy is like for them there. I'm really glad I got to see their show in both festival and bassment format. I liked to bassment a bit better because it was just that much more intimate, but no matter the venue, no matter how may are in attendance, Irie Ites bring the heat!! Their show is as good as it gets and if you're a lover of dub, dubplates, and bass heavy reggae, they are one to catch.