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Ska, reggae legends pump up Middle East
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Boston Herald, Ska, reggae legends pump up Middle East >>
Concert Review by Bob Young
There'd be no Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Beenie Man or Specials without the two superstar Jamaican acts that lured a throng of dancing fans to the Middle East on Wednesday night.
The Skatalites and Toots Hibbert, of Toots and the Maytals fame, each helped lay the foundations for what would become ska and reggae- styles that in turn have left a mark on everything from rock to rap.
Their reunion in Cambridge, though brief and raggedy at times, was as memorable as it was historic.
Toots and the Maytals eventually recorded more than 30 No.1 hits in Jamaica. But before they did, the young singer and others such as Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff were backed by session players who would become the core of the Skatalites, trailblazers who created the quick-tempo precursor to reggae: ska.
Three of the original Skatalites- acoustic bassist Lloyd Brevett, saxophonist Lester Sterling and drummer Lloyd Knibb- were onstage with their horn-heavy ensemble laying down a relentless beat as bright and party-inspiring as anything you'll hear.
They kicked right into hard, bass-propelling rhythms, reprising hits such as "Hey Pussycat," "James Bond" and a ska cover of the Beatles' "Love Me Do." With a five-member trumpet, trombone and sax section exchanging lines, electric keyboardist popping and pumping the beat, and Sterling throwing occasional quotes from "The Flintstones" theme and "On Broadway," the band was a happily torrid instrumental machine.
Brevett's triumphant shouts of "Rastafari!" fired up the crowd further.
A beaming Hibbert joined them for a handful of songs, all pulled from the days before his more languorous reggae slowed the tempos appreciably.
But the singer hasn't ever really forgotten those ska roots, most recently with a late '90s album called "Skafather." And with the Skatalites and Hibbert hooking up earlier on Wednesday to record a cut for his new CD, it didn't take long for everyone to hit the same groove.
Although it wasn't always smooth, they essentially met halfway, with Hibbert clearly ready to kick into a busier ska groove when it fit.
Decades-old hits "54-46," "Daddy," "Monkey Man" and " Never Grow Old" had fresh juice with the Skatalites behing them, and Hibbert knew exactly how to take advantage of it as he pulled the crowd into fervent call-and-response exchanges time and again.
His cameo was too brief, but when he left the Skatalites quickly kicked right back into their timeless skae celebration, never missing a beat. 05/23/03
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