Review: Rebelution at the Greek Theater in Berkeley 8/16/14

Rebelution vocalist/guitarist Eric Rachmany

In case you haven't heard, there is somewhat of a reggae revolution going on right now. It's not necessarily of the dreadlocked Rasta variety though-this recent movement is characterized by roots-reggae and dancehall made by kids who grew up wearing skateboard clothes while listening and playing along to it their reggae favorites.

Leading this new-gen group of musicians are Rebelution, a group of guys who met in the Santa Barbara college town of Isla Vista. The band have been together since 2004 and have grown to become one of the world's top selling reggae acts, blending an island vibe with a modern songwriting approach that embraces the best components of reggae.

The band is clearly very talented and they possess certain factors that set them apart from the rest of the genre. One big factor is the band's energy, exemplified by hardworking vocalist/guitarist Eric Rachmany. Rachmany, who is heavily influenced by Don Carlos and Black Uhuru, sings with a clear, reggae-tinged nasal inflection and he also spearheads the group's vibrant stage show. It's a show that simply levitates the audience. Another factor is the band's impressive musical versatility. Their horn section is solid, punching out solid lines while big bassist Marley D. Williams stalks the stage with grooving intent. Finally, the group's lyrics have universal appeal, but feel personal at the same time.

Last Saturday night, Rebelution rolled into Berkeley's Greek Theater with their Count me In tour, which also featured the bands Iration, The Green and Stick Figure. Stick Figure started the night off with great energy as singer/guitarist Scott Woodruff set the tone with solid guitar chops while keyboardist KBong hopped around with infectious energy. Next up were The Green who are from O'ahu. They were big guys and brought BIG energy to the stage, with three of the band members sharing the vocal chores.

Iration, like Rebelution, came together as a band in Isla Vista. However, all of the original band members are from Hawaii. Their sound is a mix of reggae, dub and rock, but has also been called Sunshine Reggae. They don't exude quite the same energy as Rebelution onstage, but are fast on the rise because they write very good songs. Watch out for this band to make a big impact in the next year or two.

It was easy to see that another year of touring has seasoned Rebelution since they last headlined the Greek Theater. The band are at a whole new level. This is evidenced by their new record Count me in-it's not only the best reggae record of the year, but one of the better releases of 2014 period. The record, the band's fourth, features great songwriting variety and stays on point with the band's core message that encourages people to spread love and positivity around them while giving the listener food for thought.

Micah Pueschel of Iration

 At their best, this seven-piece band, have a deep understanding of how to accentuate sharp changes with a level of r&b and jazzy versatility that is accessible and danceable. Such live reggae versatility has been unseen in the genre since bands like Third World and Black Uhuru ruled the world. I can't think of a reggae band that would bust out with a long refrain from Bobby Caldwell's "What you won't do for love" before smoothly jumping into their catchy new tune "De-Stress." Excellent performance.

Rebelution bassist Marley D. Williams

The Electric Watermelon Man

Being a festival photographer is a fun job, but it requires a great deal of endurance and hustle. In addition to hauling around a rather heavy cache of gear, one has to boogie from one stage to the next in order to be there at the start of the scheduled set and get in the 3 songs worth of allotted shooting  before being evicted from the pit. This cycle goes on all day, and if a festival has three or more stages, you've got to be on point to capture all of the music.

Such was the case at day 1 of Bottle Rock in Napa, where I first ran into the watermelon man while zipping from one stage to the other. Having quickly perused the food selections from some of Napa's elite restaurants as I made my way from one stage to another (this festival is a foodie's wet dream-but you better bring some cash), I was looking for quick sustenance.The watermelon man caught my attention because the sign on his mobile cart said $1 a slice, an extraordinary value in this venue.

The electric watermelon man with another energized customer

I was in a bit of a hurry, but I briefly engaged him by innocently asking, "Is your watermelon good?" He stared at me for a moment, then said, "Do you think I'd sell shit?" Not knowing the guy, but assuming the fruit was ok, I shook my head no and continued to head towards shooting Karl Denson's Tiny Universe without purchasing a slice, because I didn't want to risk having sticky hands during the shoot and truth be told, I thought the fella was initially a little curt.
However the $1 price was too tempting, and after the shoot, I found him in the middle of the Tiny Universe crowd and bought a slice, enjoying the juicy revival that it provided me while dancing to more of  the set. He walked up to me as I did this and said, "Good stuff, huh?"

Tiny Universe guitarist D.J. Williams

Day 2 started off well because I got to shoot a great young Sacramento band called Autumn Sky for the first time. As the day wore on, I successfully shot Third Eye Blind, Cracker and Tea Leaf Green, and interviewed the festival owners at a press conference. But I still had Weezer, Outkast, De La Soul and Heart to shoot and I was running out of gas as I finished shooting Robert Earl Keen.
To stave off fatigue, I secured my camera gear and decided to try and regroup with a walk. Suddenly, there he was on the walking path-the watermelon man, ready with a fat wedge of heart-filled rind. I gratefully handed over a buck and wandered off with my reward.
At this point, I realized I had wandered into the silent disco area, because I could clearly hear and see Keen from a near distance, yet people were dancing in quiet bliss all around me. For those of you who aren't familiar, the silent disco is a festival area where participants put on wireless headphones and dance silently (except for the beats in their head) to the music of a nearby dj who is broadcasting the signal. It's like a sea of funky, twitchy mimes.Having never tried this (and being a little skeptical about the hipster taint of it all), I slipped on the headphones with one hand while holding the sticky watermelon in the other.
 I was immediately experienced this seismic mental shift where Middle-Eastern beats were bouncing around in my head and I realized my feet had suddenly started involuntarily shuffling and bouncing as me and the watermelon slice got it on to the beat. I could sense my blood vessels dilating and my heart starting to pump more rapidly, as a new watermelon spirit emerged in me. Cosmic rejuvenation! The Karpousi (Kar-poo-zee) as watermelon is called in Greek, was kicking in.
 After indulging in another couple of songs, I handed back the head phones, and bounded like Tigger over to the nearby Robert Earl Keen's set, dancing and hopping all the way. I decided to share this new energy I was feeling along the way and suddenly, a few bored, beautiful women, who were standing with guys that were trying too hard to look cool, were dancing along and a chain reaction of "happy feet" broke out as the great Keen (such a fitting name for the amazing songwriter!) kicked his band into high gear. Needless to say, he had the whole crowd at his mercy for the rest of his set. I'd like to say I had something to do with that, but by that time I was heading off to go shoot Weezer, wondering "what was in that watermelon?"

Robert Earl Keen

Silent disco kids-I was one of THEM!

Top TEN shows of 2013

Here goes somethin'-A late look at last year's best shows. All were PHENOMENAL in their own way. 

1. Karl Denison's Tiny Universe featuring Zach Zeputy-Ray Charles Boogaloo Dance Party @ Harlow's. The title of this show alone sounds fun enough doesn't it? But when things got cookin', it came down to one thing-this show was one of the purest, joyous events of the year. Nothing but mighty fine music played with verve and received with total adoration and love from the dedicated dancin' fools in attendance.

 2. Los Lobos-40th Anniversary show @ Fillmore, SF. Speaking of knowing how to party, Los Lobos have been playing some of the best American music we have known for the last four decades. So how do they celebrate their 40th anniversary? By throwing down some classics, punching up the Tex-Mex and bringing out Boz Scaggs, Taj Mahal and Blondie Chaplin (guitarist/vocalist who has backed up the Stones and many others.) The guests were amazing, but the song selection was phenomenal. Maybe the finest versions I've heard of "Tears of God" and "Angel Dance." Long may you ride fellas!

3.  Heartless Bastards-Easter night @ Harlow's-On a rainy easter Sunday, the Heartless Bastards rolled into town and transformed a sleepy J. Street into the center of the musical universe. Singer/guitarist Ericka Wengstrom was at her soaring finest, with the band shifting from power Americana to kick-ass rock n' roll at the flip of a switch. (*this shot is from High Sierra)

4. Mike Dillon Band @ The Blue Lamp-There is only one Mike Dillon and only one Carly Meyer. And on this night, their one-two punch was more than enough to enrapture a fun-loving crowd with their brand of zany, go-go and off-kilter hip-hop madness and jazzy funk.Serious FUN.

5. Brubaker @ Old Ironsides-A wicked blast of a performance by the Sac meets the Bay supergroup. Supercharged riffs, thundering rhythms and a soaring sound make their forthcoming album one of the most heavily anticipated of 2014.

6.Michael Franti and Spearhead @ Sac St. University Ballroom-The wife of a great friend texted me when this show was announced, writing- "Let's go see Spearhead and dance our asses off!!" That's exactly what happened at this excellent show. It was a homecoming for Franti, who grew up in Davis and hadn't played Sactown in quite some time. One of the many highlights was Franti bringing his mom, a retired teacher onstage and telling a little bit of the story of his upbringing as her adopted son. Good-hearted moment. 

7. Rubblebucket @ High Sierra Music Festival and Harlow's-A one of a kind band playing out in the midst of a July heatwave.Despite the soaring temperatures, they brought a big crowd of people joyously to their feet-dancing, jumping around, loving, living. Rubblebucket connects with their audience like no other in their very own quirky, semi-nerdy and very funky way.
Days after the High Sierra show, singer Kal was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and went immediately into treatment. She reappeared with the band in early November at Harlow's cancer free and hair free as well. It was as if she had never lost a beat. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, fun night of music. 

8. Clutch w/ The Sword @ Ace of Spades-This was the powerhouse show of the year, and it just happened to fall on National Metal Day (11/11).  A great gift to fans of both bands, who were in TOP form. Clutch in particular, left little doubt that they are in the top tier of heavy band there is these days. Scratch that, they are in the top tier of ALL touring bands these days.

9. Anders Osborne @ Hangtown Halloween Ball-One of NOLA's favorite adopted sons, Osborne brought a unique energy and sound with his blues in open D. Sometimes subtle, sometimes heavy in electric mayhem and always steeped in plenty of soul.

10. Matisyahu w/The Dub Trio @  Ace of Spades-(and elsewhere...)-Through festival line-up luck and circumstance, I caught Matisyahu with the Dub Trio a total of 5 times over the last fourteen months. Touring relentlessly for the great album Spark Seeker, the formerly bearded one was riding high with a great batch of new songs that he really believed in. The remarkable, Brooklyn-based Dub Trio, who have become his backing band, amazed each time as they somehow managed to rearrange and morph Matisyahu's songs into something different every single time out. Epic.