| Music Review: Morgan Heritage at the FLOG |
|
||||
|
Jamaican Act have mixed fortunes trying to fit roots reggae into the Sound System format at the FLOG
Roots reggae and sound systems seem to be a bit of a contradiction in terms, especially for a group, like Morgan Heritage, which defines itself as a 'roots rock reggae' ensemble. I would guess that most people in the packed out FLOG last night were expecting to see a full rub-a-dub reggae set with a full band, with some great sweet reggae basslines and guitar riffs coming off the stage. Instead, as people who had read the fine print of the flyer, knew that what was in store was instead a sound system-style show, with the members of the group who had actually made the trip singing their songs over 45s of the backing tracks.This is of course the formula of choice for more ragga-based and digital reggae, and which has made the dancehall scene so vibrant over the past twenty years, but it does not seem to fit so well with roots and culture music, when the line between singjay and old-fashioned reggae singer has been crossed. This was expecially the case last night given that the selecta was one of the group, also coming from round the back of the console to pitch in with some flows from time to time. In any case, the FLOG was packed out, as you would expect for a group as well known as Morgan Heritage, and the dreadlocked brothers kept the crowd swaying, wining and strutting and they went through their repertoire of rocksteady, rud-a-dub and sweet reggae-backed tunes, including several tracks from their upcoming album, Mission in Progress, which sounds like it should be at least as good as their past efforts. The highlights of the show were the three tracks that lent themselves best to the soundsystem format, more 'singjay/deejay' in style, with big, recognisable choruses: Tell Me How Come, Don't Haffi Dread, and the masterful Uncomfortable on the brilliant Stop that Train riddim, which has been ridden brilliant by several artists in recent years. All in all, for a concert which people had dished out 12 euros for, this must have been a bit of a let-down, with a not particularly long set, no encore to speak of, and that spark that occasionally ignites dancehalls definitely missing. One thing that was definitely made clear during the dancehall following the concert however was the new Burro Banton joint, Badder Den Dem's status as the new soundbowy anthem, the place almost burned to the ground when the tune came on, leading to four pull ups. Lu Mi DJ, who is one of the three of four selectas who host the dancehalls following reggae gigs at the flog has begun to clutter up his sets with far too many reggae mash-ups, destroying the flow and the authentic feeling of the night. Whereas once you might get a couple of verses of The Pharcyde over some recent riddim, now you get everything from Ace of Bass to Fifty Cent clumsily put over some reggae instrumental, and the place soon loses its enthusiasm. I can't miss this opportunity to recount the funniest episode of the night, when a girl I was dancing with to Muder She Wrote, a dancehall anthem, had to run off to break up a fight between HER DAD (!!!!!) and THE DJ (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) - not the DJ mentioned above though, I hasten to add. The absurdity of this scene was excerbated by the fact that the two protagonists are very well known figures in Florence in their own way. Never a dull moment at the FLOG. |
||||
