Concert in Tel Aviv

Last night my roommate and I made the trip from Haifa to Tel Aviv to see the Abyssinians and Black Uhuru. They may have been old and way past their heyday, but it was still a great show. It was the first reggae show that I've been to where there were actually real Rastafarians and not the poser white kids who are only in it for the sacrament. The Rastafarians consider themselves to be an offshoot of the Jewish tribes that migrated to Ethiopia and they worship King Halie Selassie, who was the last king of Ethiopia. They also consider Marcus Garvey, who led the Back to Africa movement in the early 20th century, and Bob Marley to be their prophets. The Rastafarians believe that God created the world from Mt. Zion, like the Jews, and so they come and hang out in Israel. Not to mention, there were a lot of Ethiopian Jews there.

I must say that it was probably the first reggae show I've been to where white people were outnumbered. It's about time. There's too many casual Bob Marley fans who go to shows in the states and think that they're so cool. They're just posers. If you're a real reggae fan, than things such as Trojan Records, Toots and the Maytals, The Skatalites, and Peter Tosh mean something to you. Owning the Bob Marley greatest hits album or one Matisyahu album does not make you a fan of reggae. Branch out. Listen to lots of it. If you need to start slowly into getting into reggae, listen to the Blues Brothers' "Briefcase Full of Blues" album. They cover King Floyd's "Groove Me" which is a great start for getting into real reggae. Not commercialized pot smoking music like Matisyahu.

Anyways, the show was great. Both bands were great and the show actually started on time. After the show we went straight to the train station and got a train back to Haifa. We got back here at 3:30am. It was worth the trip to Tel Aviv for the show. It's really unfortunate that most of the really great reggae acts are old and their days are numbered. The next act on my list to see is Toots and the Maytals, although I have no idea where.