Rebelution
Revolution, Fort Lauderdale
March 16, 2011
Surf scene reggae bands always do well in South Florida, and that statement is especially true for the month of March, aka "Spring Break!". For the sold-out show, a line wrapped around the building for will call tickets. Rebelution, the headliner of the multiple band bill, held it down strong, and carried the party into high (cough, cough) gear. This white-boy reggae is not especially unique, but their groove is solid, and their attitude is great, making them a "good for what they are" kind of thing.
From the time the band opened the show with "Lazy Afternoon", the crowd was with them 420 percent. The response was always large when front man Eric Rachmany would call out for hoots and "woo-oh"s, they impressively knew the words to lots of songs, and the dancing was non-stop. As the set opened, a girl crowd-surfed quite successfully. Though, to be fair, the place was packed so densely, that Chris Farley could have stayed afloat up there for a while.
Rebelution's sound is very poppy, but done in a reggae style. Imagine "Hey There Delilah," to a reggae beat, but sometimes instead of the song being about a girl, it's about weed. Among the crowd favorites played were "So High," "Bright Side of Life," and "Bump." The band also mixed in some new songs, such as "Sky is the Limit" and "Life on the Line."
Every few songs, they'd get into some deep (deep enough) dub territory. On a few occasions, the band actually spoke. More than once it was in praise of marijuana, and once it was as a tribute to fellow West-Coaster, the recently deceased Nate Dogg. As a whole, the set was strong, building in intensity from start to finish, and there didn't appear to be a disappointed face in the crowd.
Critic's Notebook:
The Crowd: Teeny-bopper sardine can, with young peeps straight out of the advertisements of Surfer magazine guzzling beer and puffing away.
Random Detail: Though there was barely room to walk around the venue, the bars were nearly vacant. Young crowd, indeed.
By the Way: Miami reggae fest is coming up!
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