Looking backstage as The Wailers set up for their set, one could have mistaken them for the Jamaican Bobsled Team. Given the single digit temperatures outside they were bundled up like proper Minnesotans. But the cold was forgotten as soon as the sounds of classic Reggae started to fill First Avenue. The Island tunes were so powerful that Twin Cities meteorologists tell us, yesterday was the last cold night of the winter!
And classic Reggae it was. No dancehall, no 2Tone. There were no air horns blown, no booties shaken on stage. It became clear why the reggae style played by the Wailers is known as “roots”. The deep felt and genuine Rastafarian influence was evident in references to Emperor Haile Selassie I.
Kicking off with the instrumental “Well Pleased” the band let the music flow smoothly. In my mind the sun is still shining today.
Set List:
Well Pleased
Irie – Rastaman Vibration
Survival
Heathen
Wake Up + Live
Sherrif
Could you be loved
Buffalo Soldier
Kinky Reggae
Lively up yourself
One Love
Jammin
Redemption Song
Bend down low
Rebel Music
Is this Love
(A couple of songs I could not read from my image of the setlist)
Exodus
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