Blowin' Up Blog Spots From Here To Afrika...Like Boom! (7.03.08

Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 @ Harbourfront Ctr.

talk about total turn around...in the 180 direction....for the past 6 months the concert scene in T.O.  (according to my personal taste and schedule availability) has been the Kalahari desert.....dry.....then all of a sudden subtle hints of the summer season arrives and whoops....can't even keep up with all the concert announcements and gigs....

and although i just found out that the Propagandhi show on July 27th is completely sold-out (super-ass.)this show kinda eased the hurt....

Seun Kuti (the son of the James brown of African/Nigerian music, Fela) & Egypt 80 (made up of most of the original members of Fela Kuti's own Egypt 80)...was yet another wicked and admission FREE show @ The Harbourfront Centre.....

as soon as we arrived (the place wasn't was packed as the Lee Perry Show 2 nights ago; probably due to the middle of the week/post long weekend factor) there were pockets of happy, jubilant and jovial nouveau hippies freestyle and free-form dancing and this added to the purplish-haze i was drifting in and out of (so it was a bit tricky) and the thumpin' sounds of funk bass and happy Nigerian trebled rhythms lit up the atmosphere....properly placed backup vox'd phrases laced the tunes that were seamlessly mixed together with commanding chants, crowd participation and crazy dance moves maestro'd by Seun Kuti himself.....

at first, upon taking in the first 15 minutes, i didn't feel the urging compulsion to move too outwardly, may a bit of a head-nod and a lil leg tap...but as soon as the 16th minute came upon me, i was infiltrated with the need to clap my hands, sway to and 'fro and cop a lil 4 step routine of my own (so maybe on the 18th minute, i looked like one of those crazy hippies myself......not even close...i didn't muster THAT much energy) but nonetheless....i was certainly feeling it...BIG TIME!!!........

i couldn't help but to leak a smile and laugh with a childish glee at how amazing this FREE performance actually was....i've never any of the Kuti's live & direct (only via A/V) so it was a delicious treat that left me yearning for seconds.....and leftovers.....to such an extent that after the show, the band was conducting a signing  and i actually lined up (lining up is something i don't do very often f it isn't absolutely necessary) for a T-shirt &/or CD to get inked......BUT i soon bailed out with my wallet still in tact (again, lining up is NOT an easy task for me)....

i must say this....gawd bless the Harbourfront ctr (Dennis, good job buddy.) for opening up the 7th sense, once again, and exposing it to righteous sounds for the past 4 years or so....gawd bless indeed......L

next up....Break, Beats & Culture July 4th -6th...starting with Ladytron on Friday.....

Summer. Is. Good.

(Ka)Nish

The Black Ark Has Landed....and there's enough ackee and saltfish to share (7.01.08)

so what on this not-so-green earth and infinite universe can be better than a FREE LEE SCRATCH PERRY SHOW right here in beautiful Toronto in the ever-so-fresh and new summer season?????????...well...i'm sure a couple of things....the point is.....nothing i can recall in recent memory.....

so last night at the Harbourfront Centre, the Jamaican E.T. himself...Lee "Scratch" Perry blessed my eye-sight and ear-scope with his wacky, prolific and prophetic sounds.....

it was his first time playing with this native-Canadian backup ensemble so i (along with the hundreds upon hundreds there) felt honoured....

i got there with about 30 minutes to spare as "my inside source"got word that he was running late leaving the hotel (he's Jamaican: time is of no true measure~i can say that because i got the "jamdown genes" in me too....so i completely overstand)...

so bubblin' with about 8 other cohorts in the crew (holding down the back barricades with force ~ good work sean & mike!!!!)...it was a good vibe (for lack of a more powerful term) as the mystic was blowing through the air and the smiles were constantly being shared....it's true....Lee Perry brings it out by and large....AND in droves.....

the crowd was laced with all sorts and i truly believe that the majority were there to specifically check out this Dub Giant wrapped up in about 5 foot 4 inches of flesh which is Mr. Perry.....to be honest since it was apart of the long-weekend festivities, there were  stragglers that were just passing through to check out the hubbub and had no idea what they were getting into.....those folks didn't last very long as the crowd of thousands reduced to about hundreds by the middle of the set....

it was the first time i checked out the 72 year old dub creator, however, i DID know what to expect.....his music, some might argue, takes the passenger seat to his far-out-er-space-y-ness (hybrid nonsense word count: 1)...he has fully endorsed MJ and drops his psy-ence (hybrid nonsense word count: 2) on Guinness ads....but to me, the two-sides are a cohesive package....and i fully enjoyed the mixture of sight & sound~

(his smoking head gear was definitely a sight and the dub was certainly sweet sweet sounds)

this man of history, The Teacher, The Upsetter, The Scientist, The Deep Roots Music Conductor...is a pivotal part of all things classic and it was an event to witness this rare occurrence (as i don't think he's ever been to Toronto for a gig before~you're welcome to educate me of the contrary).....

it was a good evening.

"Music IS the Only Converter"

(Ka)Nish

Summer Of Reggae Giants (9/21/07)

although a bit of time has passed since i took in the sounds of the top ranking Barrington Levy at the awesome...and free, Harbourfront Centre in Toronto....since it was Caribana long weekend it was extremely rammed with people of all different influences, ages and sizes.....i must admit i was taken aback by the turnout as i'm sure everyone else was...pushing, yelling and an overall tense atmosphere was testament to that...as soon as Barrington Levy stepped on stage a lot tenseness in the air evaporated...singing massive tunes like "Murderer" and "Under Mi Sensi" with golden classic like "Here I Come" and "Too Experienced" it was definitely worth all the shoe-stepping and sweat-sharing and arm-pit-handshakes that were taking place...and to be honest i would definitely go through it again in the name of the Levy...uplifting and jovial times...

flash forward to more recent past...Sly and Robbie and The Taxi Gang feat. Horace Andy at The Phoenix...was going to miss out  this one as tickets were a bit out of my tight budget at the time...but due to a stroke of well-guided luck and fortunate events...i managed to muster up the cyash to purchase TWO tickets the same day of the show...me witnessing the arguably, the most powerful duo in reggae and the fathers of DNB (as in drum and bass) was meant to be...indeed...upon arriving at the venue there was a notice stating that Horace Andy was a 

no-show...needless to say i was greatly disappointed...but Robbie Shakespere and Sly Dunbar and the Taxi Gang crew most certainly held it down that night...although i cannot recall the set list 

(6 weeks was a long time ago) i do know for a fact that along with the packed house, i was bubblin' all night and left the show feeling nice...complete bashment!!!! (definition: party)....

(Ka)Nish