"We're all about the liberation of all sentient things. Free Willys," said Omar Francis last Friday night in-between songs. The ever-changing line-up of the Free Willys, a band that defies definition, saw Francis on lead guitar, Craig 'Phlee' Lee on drums, Jeffrey Moss-Solomon on bass and the one-man orchestra and master drummer M'Bala at Red bones blues café, 21 Braemar Avenue, New Kingston.

When the Observer arrived, the Free Willys were playing a reconstructed version of Bob Marley's Natty Dread. There were no back-up singers to provide the refrain, but the musicians let their instruments fill in the gaps, Moss-Solomon 'whickering' away on the bass, M'Bala, amazing as always, playing wind and percussion, Phlee seemingly in a world of his own and Francis' fingers apparently not knowing anything of natural laws as they wrung notes from the guitar strings.

"This is one of the two bands I really like," said Francis before the ensemble launched into Radiohead's Creep. A new dimension came courtesy of M'Bala, who added his unique touch to the angst-ridden alternative rock hit. A cover of Peter Tosh's Stepping Razor followed, starting out with an electronica feel before abruptly switching to a reggae beat.
Moss-Solomon adopted a wide-legged stance with eyes half closed as he strummed while Phlee sweated and M'Bala played a Cuban instrument he later called a 'gyjo'. Francis ripped off some fascinating riffs towards the end of the number, mixing in the Sex Pistols' AntiChrist.

The Melody Makers' Rebel In Disguise followed, with Francis having to make a quick guitar change when one of his strings broke and he said "the guitar isn't being very friendly to me tonight", with a laugh.

The crowd at Red bones was, for the most part, not exactly in a listening mode, a fact not lost on the band, as was indicated when Francis gave a sardonic "Thank you," at the end of the band's first set.

When the band returned, A Wha Do Dem? was dedicated to Francis' 'engineering foreign friends', which was accompanied by a few attempts at 'skanking' and a guitar crescendo or two. Roots, Rock, Reggae and Rodgers and Hammerstein's My Favourite Things were audio delights before Stevie G of the Rootz Underground Movement was invited on-stage to put in a cameo.

"Yes, Red bones. new experimental coming from the heights of Mount Zion," declared Stevie G before launching into River Stone, with Moss-Solomon joining him on the refrain. "Money make you funny and money is the root of all evil," the singer said before performing No Material as he 'skanked'.

He was prevented from leaving by a number of requests, Herb Fields and 20th Century, both having their own unique and amusing introductions. Nice Up Di Dance saw Francis retaking lead vocal duties, but Stevie G was not done yet as he added his own touch to the classic with a tribute to the 'unknown soldier'.

The Police's Message In A Bottle and the Oompa Loompa song from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory brought a touch of the fun and ridiculous to the proceedings before Francis took a break, leaving M'Bala and Moss-Solomon to improvise, playing off each other until Francis returned to close off the night with the theme from Spider-Man.

Feeding the multitude

DANGEROUS PETS

Pepper Pot