Perth Music

Saturday 24th January 2009
Supreme Court Gardens, Perth

It was that time of year again for Perth to look and sound like a little slice of Jamaica and even though the attendance was down from last year there was still a nice turnout for the premiere Raggae festival of Perth. There were plenty of dancing, smiles and just happy people all around Supreme Court Gardens and with the river, the Bell Tower and the new Perth Ferris Wheel as a back drop, it was definitely the place to be.

A band that formed over 40 years ago in Jamaica had the growing crowd excited that they had arrived early and as soon as their most recognisable song started to play, they controlled the stage. That band was Inner Circle and that song was Bad Boys, from the movie of the same name and the TV show COPS. Their sound and passion have not diminished in time and it was a great start to the day.

Next up were a band that you can’t help but fall in love with every time that hear one of their songs, Arrested Development. There were plenty of dancers on stage for Arrested Development and the band are still as political as ever celebrating the recent inauguration of Barack Obama. Hits such as Mr Wendal, Tennessee and People Everyday were all played and brought a lot of the people in the crowd back to the 1990’s.

After a break that many people used to get a drink or to try and find some shade to rest, Shaggy’s band came on stage and played a drawn out intro. Shaggy then arrived and, like he has done for many years, talked to all the ladies in the crowd and got everybody to put their hands in the air like they just don’t care. Even though it did seem at times that Shaggy talked a lot more than he actually sang, he did sing a great set including Mr Boombastic, It Wasn’t Me, Angel and In The Summertime. He also spent some time with the microphone down his pants.

After playing at last year’s Raggamuffin with his band UB40, Ali Campbell was flying solo this year but with a set as good as today’s you almost couldn’t tell. Campbell took control of the stage and was quite impressive for a 50 year old. He played great hits including Would I Lie To You, Can’t Help Falling In Love, Kingston Town and of course Red, Red Wine.

What could possibly follow a classic, reggae inspired 50 year old singing classic tunes but a classic reggae 60 year old singing classic reggae tunes. Eddy Grant arrived on stage and got on with business allowing the setting sun to make the moment even more beautiful than one would expect. Electric Avenue, Romancing The Stone, War Party, I Don’t Wanna Dance and Gimme Hope Jo’anna were all part of Grant’s impressive set.

After another short break, the headliner of the day Ziggy Marley arrived on stage with a smile on his face and a swagger in his step. The oldest son of Bob Marley has achieved so much in his illustrious career, winning Grammy awards, being part of The Melody Makers with his siblings as well as being an accomplished solo artist. The crowd raised their Jamaican flags high above their heads, put their arms around their mates and sang along loud and proud as Marley dazzled with hits including Black Cat, Raw Riddim and True To Myself. Tonight Marley truly did bring a slice of Jamaica to Perth.

Photos thanks to Antzpantz.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 28th, 2009 at 9:03 pm and is filed under Ragamuffin, Gig Reviews, Photos. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.