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Live
Show Review
The
Wailers - Vogue Theater, Indianapolis, Indiana
Special
Contribution provided to the Reggae Movement by Nap
Town Reggae. All Pictures, Interview and Review provided by www.naptownreggae.com
Nap
Town Reggae provides coverage of the Reggae Scene in Indianapolis,
Indiana.
NapTown
Reggae welcomes the newest addition to our family, Ms. Page Bowie!
Enjoy her first offering to NapReggae
as she sat down for an intimate interview with Gary "Nesta"
Pine, lead
singer of The Legendary Wailers,
after their show . . .
By Paige Bowie of Nap Town Reggae
 There
are two things Gary Pine uses to wind down after a show. The first, a bit
of ganja, goes without saying. The second, a Playstation console, is more
of a surprise.
"This is really
cool," he said, eyes glistening with delight as he unearthed the
console from layers of clothing and newspapers piled on an unmade hotel
room bed. Even though Pine has yet to play, you just know some poor space
monster is doomed.
Would Bob
Marley have liked video games had he lived long enough to watch them
evolve into what they've become? We'll never know. Bob
Marley was just 36 years old when he died of cancer in 1981.
 The
latest in a series of The Wailers
frontmen, Pine, 38, bears a slight resemblance to Marley. Long dreadlocks
are a given, but they also share the same regally high cheekbones and
narrow frame. And the raw intensity of Pine's voice is hauntingly similar
to Marley's, so that it's not hard to imagine the late icon transmitting
his old songs from some unseen Heavenly perch.
The current Wailer configuration didn't offer up any new material at the
Indianapolis show, sticking to the safety of music Marley recorded inhis
lifetime. "No Woman, No Cry" and "Simmer Down" were
among the obvious standards, but the band also threw in some obscure tunes
that only the most diehard Marley fans would recognize.
 Pine,
who joined The Wailers in 1998, doesn't mind. The old music is timeless.
"It's unique," he
said. "It comes from suffering. It comes from the ghetto, the
downtrodden people of society. Some people choose to shoot guns. Bob
Marley & The Wailers shot music."
The social and political
commentary for which Marley was
known has all but vanished from contemporary reggae, but Pine believes it
will return in time. These things happen in cycles, he said. Social
consciousness may ebb and flow, but music feeds the suffering soul, and
suffering and oppression can always be found somewhere.
For that and many other
reasons, Pine always admired The Wailers. Growing up in Port Antonio,
Jamaica, he taught himself to play the guitar listening to their music and
that of another Jamaican music legend, Burning Spear (born Winston
Rodney). Two of Pine's cousins worked with Spear, so Pine got to hear him
live often.
Today, Pine's musical tastes
are as disparate as Aerosmith, Ashanti and Jay-Z.
He'd like to record his own
record some day, ("I've got some beats") but for now Pine is
happy doing what he's doing. And he isn't frustrated by the inevitable
comparisons to Marley.
Pine knows he has large shoes
to fill.
"It's like you get thrown
into the lion's den," he said. "You just do what you gotta do.
Fight your way out."
 Much
Respect to "Familyman" Barrett, Al Anderson and Earl Lindo and
to all the members of the Wailers family. Many thanks for your
courteousness and for honoring us with your music. "Big up" Mr.
Pine! ("Big up!" Courtney too for the "hook up").
Special Thanks From the Reggae Movement
Crew goes out to Paige and Nap
Town Reggae for providing
coverage of the Wailers Show.
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Comments or suggestions upon reviews can be sent to Larry@reggaemovement.com
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