BY Ryan Simoneau FOR LA2DAY.COM Apr 9, 2009
Photo courtesy of BayTaper.com
A lot of live reggae bands roll through Los Angeles but to me, modern reggae music has always been a mixed bag. Too many acts simply ape the styles of their forefathers without trying to bring something new to the table. So imagine my surprise when I discovered a band hailing far from the sunny shores of Jamaica (Ithaca, New York to be exact) that delivered the progressive reggae sounds I had been seeking since I wore out my copy of Legend long ago.
The band in question is John Brown’s Body, an eight-piece outfit that delivers some of the most forward-thinking reggae music in the world today. Last Friday night, they took over The Roxy in West Hollywood, and delivered a sizzling set in support of their number one reggae album, Amplify, and the newly released, remix counterpart EP, Re-Amplify.
“This [Amplify] is the record we’ve been wanting to make for awhile,” says drummer and founding member, Tommy Benedetti. “Right now things are really unified and good and this has probably been the best time of touring and traveling that I’ve ever had on the road.”
Photo courtesy of BayTaper.com
Rewind to the beginning of the night, where I sat with fellow LA2DAY cohort and reggae aficionado, Alex Storch, at The London Hotel. We waxed poetically about the joys of our first live reggae show to our favorite mix maestro, Matt Lindger, who served us up his special “Sensation” shot to start our maiden voyage off in style.
When we finally stepped foot into the Roxy, we were treated to the rockin’ sounds of Australia’s Blue King Brown, one of the remixers on “Re-Amplify,” and are supporting the band on their west coast tour. Led by the sultry and socially conscious lyrics of singer Natalie Pa’apa’a, the band unleashed an onslaught of reggae-infused grooves. New single “Moment of Truth,” hit hard but the highlight was their closing number, which worked in an AC/DC riff towards the end (”Thunderstruck” if you must know).
With our adrenaline surged, John Brown’s Body took to the stage and swiftly submerged us in reggae “riddims,” as we became lost in a sea of super heavy bass. Backed by a rhythm section that would make even The Revolutionaries envious, vocalist Elliot Martin delivered the message Bob Marley started and we were all his willing disciples.
One of the highlights from the set was “The Gold (Dubmatix Remix),” a track off Re-Amplify, that the band loves so much that they’re playing it out on this tour.
“I prefer that version actually. All of a sudden that turned up and I’m like, we gotta play it like that,” Elliot tells me after the show. It’s a personal favorite of mine and the live version they perform sees the band at the peak of their powers.
This would prove to be a special night as the band was joined on stage by original vocalist and founding member, Kevin Kinsella, who is performing a couple of songs from the band’s back catalog at a few gigs on the group’s current west coast tour. Despite no longer being an active member, nor having played with the group in over three years, the old magic was still there. Kevin and Elliot flowed effortlessly off each other, especially on “Among Them,” the title track off the band’s 1999 album of the same name.
When the band came back for the encore, they treated us to another tune off Re-Amplify, which saw Natalie Pa’apa’a join the band on the Blue King Brown version of “Conquering Dub.” This was another standout and closed out the show in spectacular fashion, further illustrating that you have not truly heard John Brown’s Body until you’ve listened to them play live.
“The live shows are super banging, super high-energy, and sonically very lush. We’ve even got kids crowd surfing these day,” Tommy tells me. “We’ve always had good shows out here, people are really receptive and there’s just a nice community vibe.”
While our show sadly didn’t sport any crowd surfing (LA is far too cool for that apparently), reggae music has always had the power to move the people’s minds as well as their feet and on this night John Brown’s Body showed us all how it’s done.
