Easy Star All Stars at KOKO

Easy Star All Stars at KOKO

13 May, 2009
by: CreativeHustlerSince82

The Easy Star All Stars have been well drilled in bringing the uplifting good time reggae/dub vibes to venues and festivals around the world since the touring band formed back in 2003 to support 'Dubside of the Moon'.

They open up at Koko tonight with the bouncing, triumphant horn-driven 'Bed of Rose' from their only release of original material, the audience swaying and skanking in no time and the tone is set up perfectly for the rest of the evening.

After breezing through a medley of tunes from the newly released 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Dub Band' including the classic crowd sing-along 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds', the focus switches to choice cuts from 'RadioDread' and 'Dub Side of the Moon'.

Although 'AirBag' is performed without the silky soulful vocals of Horace Andy, bassist/vocalist Ras I Ray does an admirable job of filling in. With the addition of the incredible voice of fellow singer Kirsty Rock, the guest vocalists prevalent on the albums are not sorely missed tonight.

One of the standout tracks from the ESAS back catalogue 'Time' lacks the build up and unleashing of tension that the album version possesses, however during 'The Great Gig in the Sky' Rock steals the show with the haunting tones of her abundant vocal talent.

Closing with the epic 'Karma Police', ESAS leave the stage to rapturous cheers and the appreciative audience bays for more. After two hours that's quite a feat. A watertight display of musicianship from all band members illuminates the album material in a stripped down light that bodes well for their upcoming Glastonbury appearance and for when the band returns in the autumn for more UK dates.

Read Shauns interview with Easy Star All Stars. Click the link to see what else is on at KOKO.

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CreativeHustlerSince82