Pato
Banton,
one of reggae’s best kept secrets, used his immensely positive message
to help kick off the Inaugural
Chipotle Global
Groove Festival on Friday night. Taking the stage just as night
descended, with a band dressed entirely in a pure and innocent white
motif,
Pato immediately engaged the
diverse crowd with call and response as only he can do,
Ever the consummate
entertainer, Pato gave a
performance which both electrified and energized the crowd throughout
the night. Joy was seen in the large smiles of the crowd as everyone
gave thanks for his performance from the beginning to the end of the
show.
Pato
Banton
gives an amazing sense of confidence, and it is apparent he is proud of
his accomplishments, which emanates throughout his performance. One of
the founders of the modern dancehall style, it’s refreshing to see
genuine confidence in proven accomplishments in a style of reggae which
is usually characterized by bravado and grandiose claims of greatness.
Gwarn! Is the
message that
Pato Banton
brings to the world. Where one may wonder what “Gwarn” means, Pato
gives an easy and inspiring explanation. Quickly summarized, he
explains that, as a child, his mother would open the door and say
“gwarn” (go on), leaving him to make his own way to school. Standing on
stage before you, Pato continues, “for those of you who don’t have
someone holding your hand through this life, telling you exactly what
you need to be doing, don’t fret, gwarn and do it!” Quickly giving an
example, he followed with his classic tune “Gwarn” explaining how he
told his mother he was going to be a reggae singer when he was older.
Following Gwarn, he
pleased the crowd with some of his classics “Bubbling Hot” and his
definitive song “Go Pato”. In “Go Pato” he does something that should
amaze everyone watching, chatting off all 50 states in the matter of
15-30 seconds.
Playful and
engaging, Pato took every
opportunity to encourage crowd response as he chanted and sang over some
very hard dancehall beats. The crowd, thoroughly entertained throughout
his performance, responded quickly and often to the call by
Pato.
In a noteworthy
incident, Pato at one point
stopped his performance to help give exposure to his message of unity.
Asking everyone in the crowd to take the time to introduce themselves to
everyone around them, Pato
quickly created an atmosphere of peace and unity which would continue
throughout the performance.
It
was great to see a reggae legend such as
Pato Banton
play Denver, and even more encouraging to see the great crowd at the
inaugural Global
Groove Festival. The
Global Groove,
sponsored by Chipotle, promises to grow nicely over the years to come.
Situated in the heart of downtown Denver, with an eclectic lineup of
talented artists, the
Global Groove
had a feeling of niceness which shall grow over the years. A peaceful
setting amidst the downtown location, it had nice views of the growing
Denver landscape, with easy access from any direction.
Reviewed by Larry
Leiber, Reggae Movement
