Before Sunday, I had little exposure to Julian Marley's music and was
unaware of the deep enigmatic messages Julian portrays. I have heard that
his newest album juxtaposed traditional reggae sounds with jazz and blues
influences, so being unsure as what to expect Sunday night; I must admit I
was in for a pleasant surprise.
From the moment he entered the stage, Julian Marley commanded your
attention. He began his set with tracks from a previous album, "Lion in
the Morning." He pleased devout Julian listeners with his uplifting tunes,
"Lion in the Morning" and "Loving Clear" but where Julian showed his Rasta
roots was when he did an exceptional rendition of "Crazy Baldheads". I
use the word rendition lightly because if one closed their eyes, it was no
longer a rendition, but a ghostly apparition of Bob Marley himself. I
know someone who was lucky enough to see Bob Marley live and was told that
he enveloped the crowd; that his performances were hypnotic. Julian is
very much his father's son in this regard. Julian moves and mesmerizes
the crowd with his deep altruistic melodies and imitates his father's
grace and cadence with ease. The crowd came alive and through
them, he resurrected and evoked the true spirit of his father and
essentially encapsulated what Reggae music is truly about.
Ready for more, the crowd softened to "Sunshine", a sweet Caribbean love
song and more tunes from his newest album, A Time and Place. This was
where Julian showed his true charismatic instrumental abilities. (Julian
not only plays guitar, but a vast array of instruments.) The bloodlines
definitely show when Julian performs.
The crowd was not ready for Julian's departure towards the close of his
performance. I think a lot of reggae listeners walked away truly moved by
Julian's style. He does not hide his obvious dedication to traditional
reggae sounds, but instead injects alternate points of view by infusing
jazzy melodies.
The climax to this awesome show was Julian's renditions of Exodus and
War. The crowd nearly exploded with enthusiasm and the back of the
theatre made its own "exodus" to the center of the dance floor. Something
about the powerful lyrics and eerie presence of Bob entranced us all that
night.
Julian plays again this weekend, March 6th. If you love Reggae music, if
you love music at all, you should not miss this wonderful performer. Bob
Marley was deeply fond of
his children and made a prediction that his music would live on through
them. Julian leaves no room for doubt that this is true.
