I woke up this morning, with a funny, funny feeling.
And that feeling wasn’t all the usual feeling.
Brilliant
is the word that comes to mind when describing the
Andrew Tosh show this
past Saturday night at the
Fox Theatre in
Boulder, Colorado.
Andrew Tosh majestically took the stage appropriately
singing the classic song from his father “Coming in Hot”, instantly
electrifying an expectant, yet passive, crowd.
With a voice powerful and strong, and appearing in an
Ethiopian Orthodox robe with red headband,
Andrew Tosh was an eerily close
image of his father (Peter Tosh).
Mr Tosh instantly captivated the crowd with great stage presence, and
quickly went into a stellar mix of his own music while giving honor to
this father’s fabulous music history. Inspiring the mixed crowd with such
medleys as “Equal Rights,” “Downpressor Man”, and the powerful highlight
of the evening “Legalize It”, Mr. Tosh gave a reminder of the greatness
of his father's legacy. In his version of "Legalize It," Mr. Tosh
gave an adaptation towards current times with references to both
President Clinton's affinity for having partaken in such activities, as
well as directly implying that President Bush needed such relaxation
efforts.
For those looking to be inspired by the greatness of
Peter Tosh, one need not look
further than his son, Andrew Tosh. Ably carrying the torch for his
father’s image, legend, and his message,
Andrew Tosh gives you everything you might want to see from yesteryear, as
well as promising to carry this torch of greatness to the future with
grace, style and confidence. Riding out on the trademark unicycle
like his father,
Andrew Tosh, rather than living
in his father’s shadow, has embraced his father’s legendary status and has
grasped the concept of carrying the legend towards the future.
Watching and dancing to
Andrew Tosh's performance raised a couple issues. For
instance,
Andrew Tosh’s own fantastic tunes seemed to get lost slightly when blended in with the powerful and inspiring music of his
father. “The Things That I Used To Do”, off of his album Message From Jah,
is in itself a powerful and captivating tune, but when sandwiched between the
music of his father, specifically “Coming in Hot” and “Rastafari
Is”, it is difficult for Andrew Tosh to establish his own identity in the
shadow of such greatness.
Mr. Tosh did succeed in showcasing his father's legacy with
a long term focus of exposing his own quality talent and showmanship at
the same time. There is no question that Andrew Tosh's own talents
came out in full view when he performed his own tunes, and even moreso,
he was able to both give tribute to his father's legend while laying the
groundwork for his own future. However, it's difficult to give
light to his own music in the shadow of the great body of work his
father provides. In due time, a new reggae legend will emerge and
carry the torch even futher higher.
The
Reggae Angels, a California based band, opened up for Andrew, and
provided a great warm up for the headliner from Jamaica. Fenton, the lead
singer for Reggae
Angels, provided strong, yet gentle, vocals for a band putting
together some solid rhythms. Performing some of their tunes from both
their new album as well as old,
The Reggae Angels
did themselves a great justice before a large crowd at the
Fox Theatre. The
crowd, enthused, and dancing, enjoyed the opener almost as much as they
did the headliner…almost.
All in all, a great way to spend a Saturday night, much
less any other night. Never had a problem raising my spirits that
night, and I look forward to the next time
Andrew Tosh comes through the area. A great reminder to listen to more
Peter Tosh, as well as
Andrew Tosh, for
it’s great for health and mind.
