Easy Stars In Concert

Last month the Reggae cover band Easy Star All-Stars played a packed Opera House. It was the most engaged crowd I've seen this year and it's no wonder. The touring line-up are first-class musicians who give their all and clearly love what they do. This was their 10th anniversary tour performing all of Dark Side of the Moon and the audience was with them all the way.

A hopping Reggae act, John Brown's Body, was on first. They're named after the 19th century American abolitionist. They were enthusiastic and their danceable songs warmed up the house for the main event. People were openly smoking pot, a leisurely security patrol not dissuading anyone. One fan was wearing a top hat like the Mad Hatter's. When smoking was still allowed in Toronto concert venues people with joints blended in. It felt really different now, being in the hazy blue cloud, indoors.

The All-Stars came onstage with a big driving version of Radiohead's Electioneering. The Pink Floyd songs were as majestic as the originals but, best of all, the band made them their own. Kirsty Rock's vocal riffing on The Great Gig in the Sky was particularly impressive. It was also refreshing to see that the group was ethnically diverse and made up of men and women.

They played songs from other albums, including One Likkle Draw (original), a protest song: Mr. President and Redemption Song for the finale. The tenor sax and trombone players sounded amazing, especially on Thriller and Billy Jean. What grabbed me most was their cover of Radiohead’s Climbing Up the Walls. I swayed along to the ambient sounds and felt the emotions in the words.

Easy Star All-Stars at the Opera House, Toronto, April 2014. Photo credit: A. Lavender