Salmonella……Any of various rod-shaped bacteria of the genus Salmonella, Dub……instrumental re-mixes of existing recordings, I was a bit unsure of how this band got there name so the Nowt2do.com team headed down to a well know music bar called ‘The Croft’ to check out exactly what they were all about.

Originally from Kaikora in New Zealand Salmonella Dub have been in the music scene for many years, and have grown their world wide fan base not through expensive marketing campaigns but through good quality recorded music and a show which has so much cohesion and energy even the most sceptical would be impressed. It’s obviously all about the music, the instruments and the sheer talent and vision that these boys from the land of the Maoris have is in my mind second to none.

The Croft which is located at the bottom of Cheltenham road in Stokes Croft is a hive for musical activity; they have a policy of supporting local talent and giving them a venue to blossom in. At the same time they like to put on a variety of music form bands far and wide. I feel that as a bar it has a lot to offer, great drinks selection from some of the best rums to organic cider, some of the friendliest bar staff I have come across and a cool music venue with the best variety of music from Punk to Jazz.

Salmonella Dub are not very well recognised over here, being a  Kiwi band they have a huge local fan base who are obviously very patriotic towards such home grown talent, they have had platinum record sales for Killervision (1999) and Inside the Dubplates (2001). But I still find very few people that have actually heard of them. Dub does have limited appeal, but Salmonella Dub seem to take that appeal to a wider audience with tracks influence from Reggae, Drum and Bass and bands like Massive Attack As a visual show they are a joy to watch, the atmosphere in the back room at ‘The Croft’ was more lively than a Chilli Peppers concert and with the crowd behind them they responded instantly with big smiles and enthusiasm.

The Croft had an amazing feel to it at this gig, with further reviews hopefully on there way we will have some comparison but Salmoella Dub obviously have some dedicated fans a lot of them from Australasia. I did feel last night that I could have been the other side of the world, everywhere I turned there was a chilled out Kiwi that talked to you as if you’d known them for years, this kind of atmosphere is very hard to come by. I wouldn’t quite go as far as to say as they out numbered the Bristolians but there presence was a great lift. For further information on either The Croft or Salmonella Dub please visit www.the-croft.com or www.salmonelladub.com.

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