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BUJU BANTON with Dr. Israel and Seven
July 24, 2001
Starr Hill Music Hall
Charlottesville, VA
While
Buju Banton and his Shiloh Band played an extended version of “Hills
And Valleys,” a young kid with a shaved head stood with his eyes closed,
hands clasped together in the familiar Rastafarian hand clench (thumbs and
index fingers touching, forming a heart or tear shape), and a broad smile
on his face. His expression could only be called euphoria. Much like he
did for this fan, Buju transported his audience at Charlottesville’s
Starr Hill to new (inna) heights throughout his recent stop in Central Virginia,
delivering a fantastic (though far from perfect) performance.The night began with an engaging display from Dr. Israel and his backing band, Seven. Mixing deep reggae grooves and hectic jungle beats with heavier guitar riffs, Israel conjured up the spirit of the legendary Bad Brains, which pleased those in the audience old enough to remember rocking to that pioneering DC act. The good Doctor’s set was peppered with nuggets from his 1998 album, Inna City Pressure, including “Revolution,” “Together,” and a searing “Armagideon Time,” which opened the show. It was hard to tell whether the hardcore dancehall fans who had traveled to see the headliner fully embraced this Brooklyn drum & bass version of reggae rock, but plenty members in the audience had eclectic enough tastes to lose themselves in the monstrous sound.
After a surprisingly short set change, the Shiloh Band, who has been playing with Buju since 1995, warmed up the crowd with a requisite Marley instrumental (“Stir It Up,” in this case). Buju entered to the inspirational strains of “Destiny,” leading the jam-packed audience through a sing-along on the tune, something he ended up doing often during the night. Fortunately, Buju’s last album, the lackluster Unchained Spirit, is over a year old, so the singer felt no need to spend endless time on songs from that release. Instead, Buju mixed it up with numerous hits from his stellar career, including plenty of songs from 1995’s Til Shiloh (“I Wanna Be Loved,” “Not An Easy Road”) and 1997’s Inna Heights (“African Pride,” “Give I Strength,” “Love Sponge”). Buju’s positive energy and broad smile captivated the crowd and got the entire venue dancing along. After a few songs, including a great version of “Mighty Dread,” the best song from Unchained Spirit, Buju led his band into a dancehall medley, which included “Only Man” and ended with a revamped rendition of “Champion.” Unfortunately, the new music for “Champion” was not as good as the original’s bouncing beat, though the audience still sang along the every word of that love anthem.
Obviously, the crowd in Starr Hill--which is just waking up to reggae again in recent months after a long period of Jamaican silence in the area--didn’t know exactly how to react to the biggest of Buju’s hits. The typical reaction generally requires making a lot of noise and jumping up and down until the band is forced to wheel up the music and come again from the beginning of the song. Though Buju seemed surprised at this lack of a reaction at times, the genuine joy felt by his crowd as they danced and swayed kept him energized and performing at a fever pitch.
During “Untold Stories,” Buju’s stripped-down, acoustic number from Til Shiloh, the audience sang along with every word, which sent chills up and down this critic’s spine. During that moment, one could understand the hype that surrounds Buju--he has often been pegged as one of the few artists capable of bearing the weight of the “Next Marley” tag. An encore by the singer netted a phenomenal “Murderer,” the song many credit as changing Buju’s image from a slack dancehall rude boy to a rootical Rasta man. It would be more accurate to say that Buju is one of the few reggae artists who can claim to be a champion of both arenas--uniting the baser, more sexual instincts of dancehall with the loftier mental attitude of roots reggae. This versatility should keep him at the top of the reggae heap for years to come.
By Lem Oppenheimer
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::
Sanchez :: Sugar Minott Dec 3, 2002 New York City ::
Jr Kelly ::
Frankie Paul ::
Sugar
Minott ::
The Meditations
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