Bob Marley Day
Bob Marley dreamed of bringing reggae to Africa: Ragga Muffins see his dream through with festival in San Francisco
At a time when the world truly needs the reggae values of peace, love, happiness and music, the 24th Annual Ragga Muffins Festival boogied into San Francisco to celebrate Bob Marley Day. Marley was born on February 6, 1945, and all throughout California this month, reggae festivals are breaking out to celebrate, party and dance, as the man himself would have it.
The 24th Annual Ragga Muffins Festival exploded in LA on February 19th and then traveled to San Diego. On Saturday night, February 26th, the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium hosted this fantastic spectacle.
Seven reggae bands from all over the world saw Bob Marley's one dream come true. Marley dreamed of one day bringing reggae music worldwide, and particularly to Africa, where all of reggae's influences developed and evolved, and because of time and circumstance were changed, subverted, squashed and exploited. But the music could not be stopped, would not die, and as a testament to this undying musical culture, Ragga Muffins presented music from Jamaica, England, the U.S. and, of course, Africa.
The Bill Graham Auditorium was populated with all order of reggae fans Saturday night—from wasted old hippies to futuristic hipsters, from authentic Rastafarians to white guys wearing Rasta hats with fake dreadlocks. Everyone partied together with a shared mutual affection that bordered on a utopian vision. The sweet aroma of cannabis filled the auditorium.
Despite extremely long beer and food lines, the staff handled the event flawlessly. The set changes went off quickly and smoothly, and the house music played in between acts kept everyone dancing and interested.
The Easy Star All Stars (New York record label) kicked things off at 4 pm, but due to insanely long, inefficient ticket and will-call queues, much of the audience missed this performance. By the time most of us actually got in the venue, Tanya Stevens was already on-stage wooing the crowd with her seductive voice and energy, as her three piece back-up band (drum, bass and keys) laid down sparse, tight grooves in true dance-hall fashion. The place was bumping and bouncing by the time Israel Vibration (Jamaica) took over, taking it back to the roots.
Barrington Levy (Jamaica) followed, and this group seemed to be the crowd favorite of the night. As stated eloquently by a drunk woman in her late 20's while on line for a beer, "Barrington Levy is the best band here," she told me, wavering back and forth. She was dressed in just a skimpy purple corset and jeans, and her thin body wobbled in place as her bloodshot eyes glared up at me. "Better than the headliners?" I asked, to which she replied, "Jimmy Cliff, Steel Pulse, they're alright, but Barrington's where it's at."
This seemed to be the sentiment of most of the audience, who sang along to many of Barrington's songs and followed him as he worked them into a frenzy with his wild exclamations of "Whoooooaaaa" and "Whaaaaaaaaa" and "San Franisco yeaaaaahhh" and "murderaaaaaaaaaaaaa." The band behind Barrington delivered all the tight, one-two knockout punches necessary for making this kind of crowd participation effective rather than hokey.
Alpha Blondy (Ivory Coast, Africa) came on next, and I thought this was the highlight of the night. With a three piece live horn section (gotta love that!), a keyboard player who laid down spacey, psychedelic, atmospheric textures, and a lead guitar player who delved into heavy metal riffs at times, the pure agility of this band is enough to keep you interested. But with the balls-out high intensity of their performance, you're blasted into the stratosphere, sailing somewhere high above the ceiling. Alpha Blondy is a testament to Bob Marley’s mission and dreams, a true heir to the reggae throne.
Jimmy Cliff (Jamaica) was a definite change of pace, donning a happy-go-lucky style that seemed cheesy at first after the high-tech Alpha Blondy, but eventually the crowd settled in and enjoyed Cliff's sincere devotion to everything peaceful and loving that music stands for. This is what reggae's all about, and it was amazing to be enveloped in Cliff's total dedication to the art form.
By the time Steel Pulse (United Kingdom) walked out on stage, the crowd was hazy, tired and inebriated, and everyone just bopped around drunkenly, struggling to stay on their feet. But Pulse kept us dancing and grooving, and even though it was hard for most to comprehend their surroundings, the squinting eyes and flushed faces kept at it, dancing strong 'til the final note.
Other than the long lines and other tiny hitches, this festival was a rousing success. The love and happiness in the room sketched an outline of what the world can achieve if everyone just chills out and listens to the music. It was a great party to celebrate Marley’s birthday, and I’m sure he was looking down loving every minute of it.
At a time when the world truly needs the reggae values of peace, love, happiness and music, the 24th Annual Ragga Muffins Festival boogied into San Francisco to celebrate Bob Marley Day. Marley was born on February 6, 1945, and all throughout California this month, reggae festivals are breaking out to celebrate, party and dance, as the man himself would have it.
The 24th Annual Ragga Muffins Festival exploded in LA on February 19th and then traveled to San Diego. On Saturday night, February 26th, the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium hosted this fantastic spectacle.
Seven reggae bands from all over the world saw Bob Marley's one dream come true. Marley dreamed of one day bringing reggae music worldwide, and particularly to Africa, where all of reggae's influences developed and evolved, and because of time and circumstance were changed, subverted, squashed and exploited. But the music could not be stopped, would not die, and as a testament to this undying musical culture, Ragga Muffins presented music from Jamaica, England, the U.S. and, of course, Africa.
The Bill Graham Auditorium was populated with all order of reggae fans Saturday night—from wasted old hippies to futuristic hipsters, from authentic Rastafarians to white guys wearing Rasta hats with fake dreadlocks. Everyone partied together with a shared mutual affection that bordered on a utopian vision. The sweet aroma of cannabis filled the auditorium.
Despite extremely long beer and food lines, the staff handled the event flawlessly. The set changes went off quickly and smoothly, and the house music played in between acts kept everyone dancing and interested.
The Easy Star All Stars (New York record label) kicked things off at 4 pm, but due to insanely long, inefficient ticket and will-call queues, much of the audience missed this performance. By the time most of us actually got in the venue, Tanya Stevens was already on-stage wooing the crowd with her seductive voice and energy, as her three piece back-up band (drum, bass and keys) laid down sparse, tight grooves in true dance-hall fashion. The place was bumping and bouncing by the time Israel Vibration (Jamaica) took over, taking it back to the roots.
Barrington Levy (Jamaica) followed, and this group seemed to be the crowd favorite of the night. As stated eloquently by a drunk woman in her late 20's while on line for a beer, "Barrington Levy is the best band here," she told me, wavering back and forth. She was dressed in just a skimpy purple corset and jeans, and her thin body wobbled in place as her bloodshot eyes glared up at me. "Better than the headliners?" I asked, to which she replied, "Jimmy Cliff, Steel Pulse, they're alright, but Barrington's where it's at."
This seemed to be the sentiment of most of the audience, who sang along to many of Barrington's songs and followed him as he worked them into a frenzy with his wild exclamations of "Whoooooaaaa" and "Whaaaaaaaaa" and "San Franisco yeaaaaahhh" and "murderaaaaaaaaaaaaa." The band behind Barrington delivered all the tight, one-two knockout punches necessary for making this kind of crowd participation effective rather than hokey.
Alpha Blondy (Ivory Coast, Africa) came on next, and I thought this was the highlight of the night. With a three piece live horn section (gotta love that!), a keyboard player who laid down spacey, psychedelic, atmospheric textures, and a lead guitar player who delved into heavy metal riffs at times, the pure agility of this band is enough to keep you interested. But with the balls-out high intensity of their performance, you're blasted into the stratosphere, sailing somewhere high above the ceiling. Alpha Blondy is a testament to Bob Marley’s mission and dreams, a true heir to the reggae throne.
Jimmy Cliff (Jamaica) was a definite change of pace, donning a happy-go-lucky style that seemed cheesy at first after the high-tech Alpha Blondy, but eventually the crowd settled in and enjoyed Cliff's sincere devotion to everything peaceful and loving that music stands for. This is what reggae's all about, and it was amazing to be enveloped in Cliff's total dedication to the art form.
By the time Steel Pulse (United Kingdom) walked out on stage, the crowd was hazy, tired and inebriated, and everyone just bopped around drunkenly, struggling to stay on their feet. But Pulse kept us dancing and grooving, and even though it was hard for most to comprehend their surroundings, the squinting eyes and flushed faces kept at it, dancing strong 'til the final note.
Other than the long lines and other tiny hitches, this festival was a rousing success. The love and happiness in the room sketched an outline of what the world can achieve if everyone just chills out and listens to the music. It was a great party to celebrate Marley’s birthday, and I’m sure he was looking down loving every minute of it.
posted by Frankis Molloy at 12:20 PM
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