Two in One
Didn't have time to write yesterday, so I'll go through a few highlights of the past couple of days...
The Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra definitely gets my vote for most entertaining act so far at this festival. Band members run around the stage with some outrageous dance moves - the horn players having clip-on mics allows them to do this - and the music was skankingly awesome. The group has been touring for years and years, which is evident from how tight their sound is and the precise accuracy of the music. Individually they are clearly all talented improvisors and their dress code of white gangster suits pretty much completed the audience's captivation. The CD I have is good, but this band needs to be seen live to enjoy the full experience. Catch them if you can!
The disappointment of that night was the fact that Israel Vibration didn't arrive in time and couldn't perform until the next day. I think they finally made it here at something like 6am, so it's impressive they came out to play at 1pm after that. In any case, the legendary roots band lived up to expectations. Both lead singers suffer from polio, contracted during the Jamaican epidemic, and their story of a rise to fame is amazing. Stumbling around the stage on crutches, they may have looked weak in appearance but the strength of their music more than compensated.
Anthony B played an extended set on Wednesday night, which went on for a bit too long in my opinion; nevertheless, I thought he did a good job and went down really well with the crowd. I think this is his second or third time at Sunsplash, so the people here know what they're getting. His press conference after the show was also fascinating: someone asked a question about what reggae artists really think about Africa and if they ever go there, which is a potent issue considering the nature of Rastafarian religious beliefs. Anthony B then talked about how difficult it is for Jamaican people to get visas for any kind of extended stay in many African countries, speaking at some length and giving various examples from personal experience. A lot of people from the island state want to go back "home" to Africa, but are unable to do so because of these political restrictions; Bob Marley's often-repeated call for Africa to unite is clearly still more dream than reality.
Popular dancehall artists Fantan Mojah and Beenie Man have also performed here on the last couple of evenings, but I didn't really enjoy them as much as Anthony B or Gentleman. There was one funny moment when Mojah brought a random girl out of the audience to dance with on stage, but she was clearly too spaced out to know what was going on and didn't respond at all. Beenie Man was going down well with the people and he has a great presence, but the "King of Dancehall" only had a couple of tunes which I really liked.
Last night I discovered an original trio playing one of the smaller cafe tents at the festival. Triad Vibration are comprised of drums, bass and didjeridoo and their largely rhythmic style had people dancing like crazy. As a sax player in a funk band, it was great when the bass player brought out a bit of the slap technique - I had been dying to hear something like that for quite a while. I think they're hanging around to play a few more days too, so I will definitely be going back to that tent.
Tonight there's an interesting lineup including bands from Switzerland and Senegal, with Ziggy Marley finishing things off. He was a fairly late addition to the festival programme and I don't know much of his music, so I'm looking forward to see what kind of influences he draws from the style of his father and brothers.
The Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra definitely gets my vote for most entertaining act so far at this festival. Band members run around the stage with some outrageous dance moves - the horn players having clip-on mics allows them to do this - and the music was skankingly awesome. The group has been touring for years and years, which is evident from how tight their sound is and the precise accuracy of the music. Individually they are clearly all talented improvisors and their dress code of white gangster suits pretty much completed the audience's captivation. The CD I have is good, but this band needs to be seen live to enjoy the full experience. Catch them if you can!
The disappointment of that night was the fact that Israel Vibration didn't arrive in time and couldn't perform until the next day. I think they finally made it here at something like 6am, so it's impressive they came out to play at 1pm after that. In any case, the legendary roots band lived up to expectations. Both lead singers suffer from polio, contracted during the Jamaican epidemic, and their story of a rise to fame is amazing. Stumbling around the stage on crutches, they may have looked weak in appearance but the strength of their music more than compensated.
Anthony B played an extended set on Wednesday night, which went on for a bit too long in my opinion; nevertheless, I thought he did a good job and went down really well with the crowd. I think this is his second or third time at Sunsplash, so the people here know what they're getting. His press conference after the show was also fascinating: someone asked a question about what reggae artists really think about Africa and if they ever go there, which is a potent issue considering the nature of Rastafarian religious beliefs. Anthony B then talked about how difficult it is for Jamaican people to get visas for any kind of extended stay in many African countries, speaking at some length and giving various examples from personal experience. A lot of people from the island state want to go back "home" to Africa, but are unable to do so because of these political restrictions; Bob Marley's often-repeated call for Africa to unite is clearly still more dream than reality.
Popular dancehall artists Fantan Mojah and Beenie Man have also performed here on the last couple of evenings, but I didn't really enjoy them as much as Anthony B or Gentleman. There was one funny moment when Mojah brought a random girl out of the audience to dance with on stage, but she was clearly too spaced out to know what was going on and didn't respond at all. Beenie Man was going down well with the people and he has a great presence, but the "King of Dancehall" only had a couple of tunes which I really liked.
Last night I discovered an original trio playing one of the smaller cafe tents at the festival. Triad Vibration are comprised of drums, bass and didjeridoo and their largely rhythmic style had people dancing like crazy. As a sax player in a funk band, it was great when the bass player brought out a bit of the slap technique - I had been dying to hear something like that for quite a while. I think they're hanging around to play a few more days too, so I will definitely be going back to that tent.
Tonight there's an interesting lineup including bands from Switzerland and Senegal, with Ziggy Marley finishing things off. He was a fairly late addition to the festival programme and I don't know much of his music, so I'm looking forward to see what kind of influences he draws from the style of his father and brothers.
posted by Frederick at 16:06
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home