Live Show Review

Black Uhuru - Fox Theater, 6/13/02

Reviewed by Jason Dozza for The Reggae Movement

Reggae super-group Black Uhuru, winners of the first Grammy for reggae music (1984), made a triumphant return to Boulder's Fox Theater last Thursday night. Sporting a much different lineup than their heyday of Michael Rose, Puma Jones, and Sly & Robbie, the current incarnation of BU features founding member Duckie Simpson with Andrew "Bees" Beckford and Pam Hall.

Black Uhuru scored points with fans by playing over 2 hours of their most successful hits without a break. Kicking off the show with "Party in Session" and "What is Life?," Black Uhuru were solid as they performed the very hits that drove them to stardom in the mid 80's. Rasta favorite "I love King Selassie" had the crowd singing along but the hauntingly slow "Emotional Slaughter" and "Sunday's" temporarily halted the dance-party atmosphere. Most of the hits they played can be found on their Liberation - Island Anthology release, however, "Great Train Robbery," originally sung by former front man Junior Reid, was a pleasant surprise.

A common criticism of today's Uhuru is that Andrew Beckford sounds too much like Michael Rose to distinguish the modern BU from past versions. This is true, however, the fact is that anyone trying to fill the shoes of one Michael Rose has undertaken a monumental task and exposed themselves to the criticism of never living up to the legend they follow. Beckford did an excellent job of performing the Black Uhuru hits with clarity and resonance, but also of providing a strong stage presence to counter the stationary moves of Duckie and Hall.

You might not have noticed, but Scientist was also present and the engineer behind the sound. About half way through the show, when many of the songs were extended into versions, Scientist was the artist creating the dubful echoes and drumbeats that you heard. I took a moment to watch him work during "Solidarity" and was amazed at how many knobs were turned and buttons pushed just to keep the sound right through every song, a performance in itself.

Preacherman and Zion Way Sound System kicked the night off and in typical Preacherman fashion, there just weren't enough beats or stage time to for him to get it all out. All reggae fans should see Preacherman at the Supreme Court with Zion Express or Jah Family band when they get the chance. See past reviews of Preacherman. It's a dancehall performance you don't want to miss.