Live music two weekends in a row! This week it’s the Reggae Rajahs at the Humming Tree.
The opening act was Cian Finn, the — brace for it — “traditional Irish reggae” “sensation.” I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was in a Sacha Baron Cohen skit…. It was like an Irish Ali G and the joke was on the audience. He gave us a song he wrote right here in South India, but really what could top “Shamrock Jamrock”? I had to laugh every time he said “Peace & love, mon. Peace & love” in his pseudo-Jamacian-Irish accent.
The main event was the Indian reggae band. The Reggae Rajahs are “India’s first reggae sound system.” I wasn’t paying close attention to the billing: in fact they never claimed to be musicians, rather just “entertainers” and “promoters.” Their performance consisted of singing over sound tracks (including some good tunes by Shabba Ranks and others), although they did do it with lots of energy and got the crowd dancing. When it seemed like the reggae part if the set was over and they were in full out dub mode, I called it a night and went home. I started to feel like a character in this short…
It was a fun night out with friends who were game to try something new, but I won’t be downloading music from either act.
Dez in India 