DAMIAN MARLEY ‘STONY HILL’ UK TOUR LIVE @ THE 02 ACADEMY BRIXTON,LONDON, ENGLAND 01.07.2018
By Lizzy Brown
Fans of the artiste had to wait for what felt like a musical lifetime,for the release of his hugely anticipated fourth studio album:‘Stony Hill’ – its title a nod to the neighbourhood he grew up in in Jamaica. The hugely successful record which was launched last July, then saw the Gong declared winner in absentia for the Best Reggae Album at The 60th Grammy Awards back in January.
So, it would come as no surprise and much to the delight of long suffering fans, that a UK and Europe tour should be announced. And once it was – tickets to the Manchester and London shows were both completely sold out.
Marley’s London concert which happened to fall on Sunday July 1, 2018 – International Reggae Day, took place at the largest of the four venues on his tour – the 5000 capacity 02 Academy Brixton.
I arrived at the venue on a perfect Summer evening in my standard uniform – Bob Marley tee, sweats and sneakers. The sun was shining, the weather was…well…sweet and it kinda made me want to move my dancing feet. I think you can see where I’m going with this right?
Doors opened at 7pm to welcome the thousands of excited patrons who were slowly winding their way up from Astoria Walk and up along Stockwell Road. Amongst the hustle and bustle of the brazen ticket touts, sweaty pan chicken sellers and some dude walking around with a portable speaker blaring out the Stony Hill Album on repeat – the vibes was irie. It felt like everyone just became encapsulated into a colourful and somewhat hazy mellieu of sights, sounds and smells.
After collecting my pass from the stage door entrance, I descended into the belly of the building and made my way to the press pit to position myself for the best possible views. As I scanned the area, I could see that inside already appeared full to capacity and it was only 7:30pm – Gong would still be at least another two hours away from stepping on stage. “What about all those other patrons still outside?” I wondered to myself as I fitted in my air plugs.
The diverse audience were by now in high spirits and being abley entertained by British reggae crooner Christopher Ellis who is also a member of Gongs ‘Ghetto Youths’ camp. Ellis gave an energetic and passionate performance as he sang his way through rocksteady hits from his late Father, the legendary Alton Ellis’s catalogue, as well as his own original songs. Songs such as the Stephen Marley produced ‘Here We Are’ (All Natural Riddim) really got the crowd rocking and moving to it’s uptempo beat and positive message. Supported by a fantastic band and two soulful backing singers, Ellis delivered a well crafted and professional set.
For the band change, BBC 1Xtra DJ and Grammy Winning producer Seani B. took control of the decks and served up a smorgasbord of dubs, old school bashment and reggae tunes to get the crowd in the mood for the main attraction: Damian Marley.
By 9:30pm, the band slowly began to emerge on stage with the guitar rhythm section Elly B (guitarist) and Shia Coore (bass guitarist) leading the way. Soon we were treated to the deep, pulsating rhythms of the reggae beat so wonderfully supported by Marley’s two stunning and talented backing vocalists – Roselyn & Sherieta
The venue is now swollen with fans ready to explode in anticipation of the Youngest Veteran to emerge in front of them. The audience, dancing and swaying like palm trees now have their arms stretched forth as high as possible, cell-phones at the ready, illuminated and directed at the stage – ready to snap the moment when The Gong finally appears in front of them. The bittersweet scent of marijuana began to permeate the atmosphere with a distinctive aroma blowing in the air.
But soon the wait was over, as Flagman Judah burst out from the right of the stage with his signature red, gold and green flag waving high above his head, signaling that the artiste everyone had been patiently waiting for was nearby.
With his floor length dreadlocks seeming to move to the rhythm of his band, Damian Marley finally entered the stage, greeted by the piercing screams of his frenzied fans, punctuated throughout with exclamations of “JAH…Rastafari!”
Dressed in his signature two piece denim ‘suit’ – this time a charcoal grey/black ensemble with well worn Clarks wallabees – The Youngest General immediately took command of the stage with the first track from Stony Hill – ‘Here We Go’ followed by ‘Medication’ and ‘The Mission’ both collaborations with his brother Stephen albeit 10 years apart and ‘Shoot Out’(remix) on the riddim of the same name.
From here we are taken on a reggae rollercoaster journey through time starting with Bob Marley’s ‘No More Trouble’ (Catch a Fire, 1973)
We travel back 40 years to 1978 and are invited to a ‘Punky Reggae Party’ (Babylon By Bus) – a mash up his father’s anthemic call for revolution ‘Exodus’. Gong issues a request to the audience: “All hands up if you into black history!”
“Babylon position the queen and set the pawn
and start transform like Deceptacon
anytime delegates have a discrepance
well a bare tension with some long weapons
night vision upon the attack mission
coalition of follyticians get switch on…”
He continues to segueway through the decades giving respectful homage to his father with tracks like ‘Crazy Baldhead’ (Rastaman Vibration. 1976)
Teasing us with the Black Uhuru ‘Solidarity’ keyboard intro from ‘Nail Pon Cross’ we were offered a taster of the almost fairytale like ‘Autumn Leaves’ before seamlessly flowing back into the former track.
The dynamic flow continued smoothly into ‘Everybody Wants to Be Somebody’ as Gong skanked his way smoothly across the stage, his shirt now clinging to his slight frame, soaked with perspiration.
As the night approached its climatic end, one could not help but feel elevated, high even, with the heady mix of dancehall, reggae and hip hop that had been served straight up for almost two hours. The journeys through the decades, the sincere homage to his father, all the musical nods to dancehall legends like Baby Wayne (Cyaan Live so), Ninjaman, Buju, Waynie Wonder and keen ears would pick up a melodic reference from Sanchez “ Since You Went Away’ (I’m missing you)
And in the final moments as the mood became somewhat subdued with a haunting piano a video of Jamaican ghetto youths and binghi drummers showing in the background and Flagman Judah in a state of repose, Gong faced the audience:
“Well London
I wanna say thank you very much for having us here this evening
It’s been a pleasure.
Until next time…
As we always seh: tek care of yourself, tek care of each other.
Jah bless us all.
One Love.
One Love.
He then faced his band:
“Take me home,
please take me home…
Jamaica, Jamaica”
And boom:
“Welcome to Jamrock”
There was to be no encore no matter how the audience cried for more. The climax was achieved, the fans spent, Marley once again proved that he truly deserves the title of Youngest Veteran.
The message of peace and love through revolution was the constant theme carried effortlessly through his music that night and was evident in the song selections and how they were strategically ordered throughout the set.
With the world experiencing tragedy and injustice in a way that mankind has not encountered before, his concert was a shelter from the shitstorm around us. I doubt that anyone walked out of that venue that had not been affected deeply by his music that night. Myself included.
And as he reminded us through his Father’s words: “We don’t need / no more trouble…”
As he continues his tour into Europe, I pray for safe travels on his journey and say thank you sincerely for what has to be one of the most emotionally charged and uplifting musical experiences I have had in a long time.
Words and photos: lizzy brown. II IG: @iameyeandi
Please show your support for this great artiste as he continues his great works by following on all the socials: IG @damianmarley || twitter @damianmarley FB @damianmarley || tidal damian marley || Apple Music damian “jr.gong” marley. visit his website: damian marley for updates, gig announcements and to purchase ‘Stony Hill’ on CD + vinyl + digital download
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