SATURDAY
OCT 11, 2K3::.:.:. a review by robnemar 
| When I say this was the event of the year for reggae in Houston, that would be an understatement. This had to be the most anticipated show of the year by the Houston massive. Sizzla came in on a high from his latest VP records effort album titled 'Da Real Thing'. Tunes from this album have been favorites of many selectas here in Houston and worldwide since its release. So one could only imagine what the night had in store. When I walked in, the place was full up of people. I truly felt the anticipation as I walked through the crowd. I saw many people I have never seen at shows before. Black people, White people, Hispanic people, Asian people, every type of people you could think of was in attendance. That is when I saw the impact Sizzla has had on people with his music. I thought to myself, what a beautiful thing to see and feel. There was even a special guest in attendance to experience this event. The great retired NBA basketball player Patrick Ewing was in attendance. He is now part of the Houston Rockets coaching staff. So that was really nice to see. When I walked in, Sugar Notch was doing their thing on the Public Enemy soundsystem, they had a real nice vibe and the crowd was really receptive. They ran some vintage tunes, Buju and Wayne Wonder, and Sanchez. Supergold got his turn on his birthday to spin and he brought a little change of pace by having a little bit more of a hip-hop vibe and new dancehall to his set. All in all, the early juggling was nice. It was then time for the show time. The first act to come on stage was a woman named Joy, she performed two tunes and had a whole dance team behind her trying to build a vibe. I am not sure what to say about that act other than I have never seen an act like that yet. The next act to follow her was Lil' Keke and his crew. They did their hip-hop thing and performed the Houston Urban anthem, Southside. The next act that followed was the Xterminator and Sizzla prodigy, Turbulence. He is riding the success of his latest effort titled 'The Truth'. He built a strong vibe with the massive. My favorite part of his act, was when he was singing about how he gets a woman and how you are supposed to go about getting a woman. I found that to be very informative. Anyway, needless to say, it was time for the one named Sizzla Kalonji. |  |
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I am truly almost at a loss for words on how powerful and exceptional his show and just his presence was. To say it was strong wouldn't be enough. Maybe magical is the word. Whatever it may be, you could just feel it in the air. He came out to his anthem Praise Ye Jah and from there just ran through a whole slew of timeless classics. He touched tunes like Dem ah Wonder, Like Mountain, Words of Divine, Aznaldo, Good Ways, Taking Over, To the Point, Black Woman & Child. The list could just go on and on. His backing band was the legendary Firehouse crew and with every beat they played, they amplified the message and the words that Sizzla was flinging down on the massive. The music was just as powerful as the words. I really liked the way Sizzla leaked some of the tunes from 'Da Real Thing' in between the classics. Tunes like Simplicity, Why Should I, Woman I need You, and Got it Right Here, got huge forwards and just had the massive in a frenzy. But just when you thought it couldn't get any better than that, when I thought I was on top of the world, he took me to a place I thought I could never go and dropped Mash Dem Down, then Solid as a Rock and Just One of Those days and then Thank You Mama consecutively to end his show. Bumboclaat massive, eye watah nearly touch down. I was truly moved and so was the entire massive. As he did each tune during this segment, the crowd reaction got stronger and stronger. Especially to the tunes Solid as a Rock and Just One of Those Days. The massive was singing each song word for word, as was the case the for whole night. |
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It
was just beautiful massive, words can't explain. So many aspects
of this show gave me inspiration, the differences of the people
in the crowd by culture and style and race. It was just very positive
to see so many people from so many backgrounds to hear the same
message and to know we all felt the same vibe. Sizzla Kalonji came
to slew and he did it. He wrecked it. What a year for reggae in
Houston, what a show, what a night and what an event. Truly
the show of the year. Big up the whole Houston massive
who was in attendance. This was without a doubt the largest turn
out of the year. Big up SugarNotch, Public Enemy, and the
one named SuperGold for creating a nice vibe for the massive
as we waited for the show to start. Big up SuperGold promotions
for bringing this amazing night to Houston and Happy birthday to
Supergold as well because this show was his birthday bash. Big up
Ms. Susie and ReggaeLink.com for her contribution in spreading the
word for such events and for giving me the opportunity to be able
to share and relay information about some of the happenings in our
local reggae world, to you the massive. Big
up all reggaelink and Houston crew. As Sizzla would say
massive, Bless Up! -- RobNeMar
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