Damien Marley @ BB King Blues Club, NYC
Live Reviews | Apr 21st, 2005
Opening Bands: Stephen Marley
Date: April 21st 2005
Venue: BB King Blues Club, NYC
I wanted to see Damien Marley perform live because I really like his music. His style is vastly different than any other Marley offspring. He has more of a dancehall, hip hop style. What’s great about each Marley is the different styles each of them have. Ziggy, Damien, Stephen, Julian and Ky-mani all have their own unique music style. I think the one that sounds closest to their Father is Stephen though.
Supposedly the show was “starting at 8pm” so my brothers and I got to BB Kings and got a decent spot around 7pm. Some DJs were playing and I enjoyed the music they were playing. They were playing the hell out of I Wayne, the up & coming VP Records dancehall artist that I like. I was hoping Stephen Marley would come on stage soon but no, that wasn’t the case. After listening to some DJs play, we had to listen to some schmucks from Hot97 play half the same songs I heard already from the other DJs. They didn’t get off the stage til 9:45pm, about an hour and forty five minutes after the original start time. I really really really hate bands and artists who take fucking forever to get on stage, especially on a damn work night. I was about 5 seconds of away from leaving and Stephen Marley finally came out and played a few songs.
He started off with a slow song from his upcoming album. He did a ska version of an early Bob track but I can’t remember it off the top of my head. Maybe it was Dubby Conqueror? Whenever he did sing a Bob Marley tune, the crowd was singing back in full force. Stephen would stop singing and listen to the crowd. The band finished playing “Is This Love” and the crowd was singing some much. Stephen ended the song and ran and laughed off the stage. Probably because we didn’t need him to be around and sing…or something.
I couldn’t believe the whole crowd was still smoking up after all the anti-smoking laws in buildings and nightclubs now. But the ganja was a blazing and I hated it. It’s pretty funny that I love reggae music but hate marijuana. Hate the smell and I’d rather sniff my gym jocks than that shit. But anyway, after Stephen Marley went off the stage, 5 minutes later Damian hit the stage.
The Crowd went ape shit, cheering and clapping, and even blowing air horns. Those things are freakin’ loud! Some people take their music just a little bit too seriously. I don’t remember what songs he started off with but he played a lot of tracks I knew. Songs like “More Justice” “Where is the Love” and I think “Born to be Wild.” He sang the tracks from his CD either a lot faster, or a lot slower. During the whole set of Stephen & Damien Marley’s, there was this one tall Jamaican who just waved a flag the ENTIRE time! My arm would have fallen after the first song; I’m amazed how long he did the flag waving for. But back to Damien, from seeing him perform, the man can toast and rap really quickly. He also sang some of his Father’s material like “War,” well at least one of the Marleys sang that song, I think it was Damien though. Damian went off stage and came back with Stephen. They did a few songs together like “It Was Written” and something else that I can’t remember.
Overall, once the actual musicians hit the stage, the show was great but I just hate waiting for bands to get on stage. Stop smoking pot backstage and get up there and perform already! And if you have to smoke up to get on stage it in a timely manner haha. But I can’t wait to hear Damian’s new Cd, which is coming out later in the summertime. Stephen’s debut Cd comes out in June as well.
