Satta
Massagana Festival 2000 with the Abyssinians, Cancerman
Mount
Tabor Pub
4811 SE
Hawthorne Blvd., 238-1646
9 pm Thursday,
July 13
$12 advance
(Fastixx)
Reggae
Dancehall
Yared
Hall African Community Center,
311 N Ivy St. Saturdays
$3
Danny's
Revolutionary Reggae Hour
KBOO
90.7 FM
3
am Saturday nights
In 1930, soon after Ras Tafari Makonen was crowned the
111th Emperor of Ethiopia and took the name Haile Selassie,
he went on a tour of the European capitals. Traveling through
the strange darknesses of these Northern cities, the young
ruler with a lineage traceable back to King Solomon needed
strength by his side. And he had it: First among his companions
were a phalanx of pet cheetahs and a pride of six royal
lions.
By that point, Rastafarianism, the religion that regards
the Ethiopian king as the divine incarnation, had already
taken strong roots in the island nation of Jamaica, some
8,000 miles away. But when Rastamen saw pictures of the
king surrounded by his feline entourage, they went, as one
observer later put it, "into paroxysms of awe and worship."
And thus Rastafarianism began to grow branches, the biggest
(or at least the most public) of which was music. Out of
said island nation, 40 years after Ras Tafari's coronation,
came some of the purest devotional music that has ever been
created in this hemisphere--reggae. Rivaling all other spiritual
music forms for depth of feeling, spontaneous dopeness and
sheer danceability, reggae music blasted out of Jamaica
in the early 1970s with Rasta in one holster and militantly
ecstatic drum, bass and vocals in the other.
Most Americans have heard little bits of reggae music here
and there. You might pick up a piece of Bob Marley's "Three
Little Birds" on the radio or Peter Tosh's "Stepping Razor"
subversively burning up the loudspeakers at Nature's. But
few know what Rasta reggae is really about. Despite some
unfortunate and misguided ideas that it is simply music
for smoking loads of ganja, reggae is primarily religious
and revolutionary music: Its lyrics focus almost exclusively
on spreading the spiritual beliefs of Rastas--namely that
Haile Selassie is divine, that repatriation to Africa is
the means to freedom for all black peoples, and that the
Babylonian system in which we all live must fall.
Outside of Jamaica, it's pretty difficult to be directly
involved with a community of Rastafarians. But it is easy,
thanks mostly to a small but dedicated community of reggae
devotees, to hear reggae music and Rasta ideas almost whenever
you want. In addition to the Red Sea's all-reggae entertainment,
here are a few things going on in Portland that any interested
party should know about:
--The Abyssinians, a vocal trio who've been making music
together for 30 years, are coming to the Mount Tabor Pub
this Thursday, July 13. Named after the ancient region that
now includes Ethiopia, the group's mellow harmonies focus
on traditional Rasta themes. Some of their songs are even
sung in Amharic, a language of the Ethiopian people. The
last time I saw the group, they came on stage fully decked
out in Rasta regalia--red, gold and green silk capes--and
quietly burned up the club.
--With the help of the Queen of Sheba Ethiopian restaurant,
a few KBOO DJs have put together a weekly reggae dancehall
at Yared Hall in North Portland. This event is extraordinary
not only because the place is free of cigarette smoke and
serves excellent African cuisine along with its alcohol,
but because the people who put it on are doing it out of
love for the music, not to make a profit. The hall is located
at 311 N Ivy St. and pulses with reggae each and every Saturday
night.
--KBOO 90.7 FM itself has upward of four separate reggae
programs. The bulk of it can be heard Tuesday night and
early Wednesday morning. But don't miss out on Danny's Revolutionary
Reggae Hour: Every Saturday night at 3 am, this DJ, who
"livicated his life to Jah" while serving a sentence in
federal prison, spins unadulterated righteousness. Get out
the instruction manuals for your radios and record the show
if you must, but don't miss the high tastes of a man whose
stated mission is to "forward the reggae vibe." For a complete
listing of KBOO shows, go to www.kboo.org/schedule/glance.htm.
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