September 24th, 2005, Gothic Theater

Denver, Colorado

Review by Philo for Reggae Movement, Pictures by JBella Studios for Reggae Movement

A Bill Bass Show

Each year which passes brings the inevitable that much closer to becoming reality;  that Winston Rodney, aka Burning Spear, will no longer bless reggae fans with his presence with the most spiritual uplifting show that the reggae genre may offer. 

This past weekend, a packed house in Denver, Colorado had the pleasure of welcoming "The Spear" to the Gothic Theater in a show not to be soon forgotten by any fan who had the fortunate luck to have made sure that they didn't miss this "must see" show.

Burning Spear, along with his Burning Band, will always set the bar for what all other reggae acts will be measured by, both today and for the immediate future.  His stoic disposition inspires both awe and a realm of majestic that not many acts, inside and outside of reggae, are able to match.

Four days following the release of his latest offering, "Our Music," The Spear was in top form and seemed ageless in his 36th year of performing.  The Burning Band, arguably the best in the business, briefly set the stage for what was to come.  Entering the stage, humble and mellow with little introduction, Mr. Rodney got right to work opening with "Don't Trouble the Rastaman." 

Due to his stoic disposition, where he hardly demonstrated any physical energy, each of Spear's performances is as equally spiritually and mesmerizing as the next.   It's almost as if the intense driving force of the band, and just his presence, is powerful enough. As with most of his performances, the initial reaction by any crowd is to expect more.   However, after the band wasted little time transitioning to some of the expected tracks like "Creation Rebel" and Rodney's timeless tribute to "Marcus Garvey,"  Spear began to beat the bongos on this track with a perfect dub outt drum and bass, and time was all it took to win over the crowd.

Something special about this time around was the return of The Spear reacting to the crowd.  In recent years, Spear has become a bit of a recluse on stage, merely performing the spirituality that is his intense message.  With the crowd feeding off the intensity of his message, The Spear fed equally off the crowd well beyond his trademark call "Talk To me People if you want some more."  From bird calls, to intentional laughter, to the simple call to Rastafari, the crowd showed praise and appreciation throughout. 

In past experience at his shows, hearing the crowd sing along is not the norm, but on this particular Saturday night, the crowd chanted along to one of Rodney's first studio recordings, "Rocking Time."  Absolutely Priceless!  On a similar note, I can't ever remember Spear plugging a new album in the past, but last night on several occasions he pleaded with the crowd to go to the record stored today to pick up the much anticipated "Our Music."  He gave a taste of a few tracks from the CD, and even showed some dance moves, letting everyone know he has no intention of slowing down.

Burning Spear commanded our attention for every second of the two hour performance.  The band was energetic the whole show, not missing a beat, and looking at times as if they were posing for photographs.  The encore left the crowd hungry for more, closing with live favorites like "Happy Day," "Slavery Days," and Rodney proclaiming "Slavery Days bring on African Postman."  He made his final exit stating that he "hopes we can do this again in the future," and you know we will.  The performance was simply incredible. 

Until Next Time, Keep the Spear Burning!