Buju Banton "Before the Dawn" Concert!!

Who said you can't have a good show without having the hype artist. My musical thrust has been satisfied Sun. Jan. 16, 2011 at Bayfront Park in Downtown Miami FL! With performance after performance after performance most people will agree when I say, that this has been one of the best reggae concerts that South Florida has seen in a long time. When you say “Reggae” music believe me “Before the dawn” brought back that true meaning and made me appreciate Reggae music even more. The success of this show surly shows how much Buju is appreciated on such a powerful weekend. This tearful moment in time was shared with Everton Blender, Nadine Sutherland, Tarrus Riely, Freddie McGregor, Wayne Wonder, Gyptian, Michael Ross, Shaggy, Ravon, Sean Paul, DJ Khaled, Ace Hood, Busta Rhymes, Spragga Benz, Stephan Marley, Jr. Gong Marley & Marcia Griffins (SIGH) did I miss anyone??? So many came to show Buju nothing but support! Most of the artist admitted that they been waiting along with his fans to see him tear the stage up!

Now to give you a little in site you know I have to give my two senses!

With all the restrictions and rules of the Feds due to case, the beginning was in scrambles. Despite the late entry each and every performance made you forget about waiting in line for two hours and listening to the chanting of a Congo band for another 2. Now I can say it did feel good, even though it was 2 hours; but the vibration of the drums and positivity of the words had you feeling real good. For this to be a pop up show, I have to give it to the stage production team. The show ran so smooth and easy, you did not have time to blink or get a drink. Approximately 6:30-ish p.m. the show finally begins with Richy Lou. The crowd was still antsy due to the long wait so his response was minimal. He was on stage for a good 10 minutes and just as he was going to bring up Christopher Martin, his time was cut. Sad but they already new they had to keep things going.

Everton Blender took it up a notch, but not as much as I thought. His presence was still greatly appreciated by the music lovers that came out.

Nadine Sutherland, what a beauty!! She hits the stage sounding good as ever singing “I’m in Love, I’m in Love, I’m in Love!!” After her tribute to Buju and giving a little taste of the great late Gregory Issac, Nadine really had the crowd going when she got into her bumble and whine tracks such as “Please Me” Snow’s “Anything just for you” & “Action”! She sure did deserve that standing ovation, especially for rocking the tracks solo.


Freddie McGregor shows who really runs the Big Ship Family! Coming on stage in his teenage swag you can tell his kids has a little influence on him wardrobe wise. But musically hit after hit, Freddie has the people reminiscing from some feel good music that is missing from reggae today. Believe me when I say that the Big Ship can never go down.


The stage kept heating up with performances even by Wayne Wonder & Michael Rose who came up to show tribute to Buju. They did there thing but did not stand out as much as I though they would. But did enough with their presents and the songs they performed.


Marcus from Platinum Kids intermission was the best!!! His passion up on that stage shows what a lot of DJ’s are lacking in the business. Now I truly see why DJ’s are brought down from NY, the vibe is different. You have a few that can bring that vibe, but that we really won’t get into.


Gramps Morgan I am sorry, but he needs his brothers and sister. I loved Morgan Heritage, but that ladies man thing he was trying to pull off was not working. Performing tracks from his solo album, which he stressed, did nothing for the crowd. Then he goes into performing “She’s still loving me” and people started to get excited, but he kept it at this slow get in my bed pace, which was upsetting because I loved that song. I really thought he was going to bring it up a notch, but wishful thinking did hurt my feelings!!!


Tarrus Riely “Love is Lovely, War is Ugly” is the best thing he could say all night. Being that this was my first time seeing Tarrus Reily live, he gets a standing ovation from me with out a doubt. The man can perform and had one of the best sets of the night. The best part was the battle with Dean Frasier a well known musician from Jamaica.

Even though it looked odd on the Flyer DJ Khaled & Friends did a great job. Bring out Busta was the best ever and that really made hit set. Which made Ace hood slide right in without having people wondering what the hell he up there for.

Hands down the night goes to Shaggy. He is a true performer and had the crowd up during his entire set. Then he goes back and brings out Ravan who along with Shaggy still looks hella good. A bif surprise was when he brings on Serani who gets overly hype and tried his hardest to buss a whine that looked not so sexy. But it was a good look, he just need to calm down a little bit!

Some surprises
Seriously can someone fire Gyptians management team? I Love Gyptian and with all the hype of “Hold You” I was really happy to hear Giselle, who by the way looked amazing announce him as the next performer. Being this was a show with meaning and positivity I did not expect him to fall in to the odd ball category. He did not do “NONE” of the real Gyptian songs. As he enter the stage he did, but then went right back to “Hold You” and “Nah Let Go!” I am sorry but no one cared for those tracks, people wanted music from the humble Gyptian, not the rururururrrrr what ever he does Gyptian. I was pissed off. Yes he did a great thing for popping up, but come on walking with two show CD's is ALWAYS a must when your on the road. By the way he is really looking nice, but PLEASE bring back the humble Gyptian.

Sean Paul still can’t perform. It is so funny how his style resembles some one I know….damn but that’s no important. Really by his 2nd song I was about to fall asleep, but he saved himself by calling on Spragga Benz. Really if I was Sean Paul I would have felt ashamed of myself…The feedback Spragga Benz was “SICK”, the place mash down when he hit the stage. I thought he was going to stay longer then 1 ½ songs, but he didn’t. I was hurt. So was the crowd, because when he left Alley Cat came on and it was back to that blah moment. This really shows that once you go pop, you’re true Jamaicans pop down from you. But all that ice around his neck I know he could give two shits.


SIGH, Man what a show, I can’t stress it enough. Emotionally it just makes me feel like Buju is a real prophet that they are trying to bring down. As Buju had the crowd waiting for the first few seconds of the first song, everyone stood there like god was about to come out. Then when he did the place went crazy!!! It started kind of slow, but the passion in his performance was so deep, it literally brought tears in my eyes. Some people literally broke out in full tears. The night ended even better when Stephan Marley, Jr. Gong Marley & Marcia Griffins hit the stage. That was amazing to see the love and support of such a blessed man. Who was put in a horrible situation. This just shows how powerful Buju Banton really is. NO ONE really knows the situation and he may have let some people down, but we all know the truth behind everything!!! Now I can say this and say it with a meaning “FREE BUJU", a true prophet who wants to rule his own destiny.

BUJU BANTON CONCERT

COMING IN 24HRS

$430 and poop

I went out to my car this morning and discovered I had a parking fine and a bird had pooped on my car, twice. Or perhaps two birds had pooped on my car once each. I'm not sure. Probably option two, I hear they work in pairs.

On the matter of the parking fine, it was for $430 because I was allegedly parking in a disabled parking zone. This is untrue. I was parked in a "No Parking" zone. It became no parking at 8:30 this morning, and I forgot that when I parked my car last night. So I was fined, but not fined for the thing I was doing. And the difference between a "No Parking" fine and a disabled parking fine is about $350.

So it looks like I'll be going to court, which is exciting.

As it turns out then, I'm more upset about the birds than the fine. Because the fine I can fight, the birds I can't.

SF MAYOR NEWSOM APPOINTS POLICE CHIEF AS DA TO FILL KAMALA HARRIS VACANCY

As anyone from the San Francisco Bay Area is aware, the City-by-the-Bay has up until now had a district attorney that was stunningly ineffective as a prosecutor—enjoying the worst trial conviction rate of any prosecutor in California—that is when she did not simply dismiss serious felony charges outright or deal them down to a month or two in jail. And as a staunch opponent of the death penalty, Kamala Harris refused to seek the death penalty in San Francisco—even for cop killers.

Therefore, when Kamala Harris ran in November for California Attorney General she did not get our vote, and when she won the office by a narrow margin, we cringed.

Of course, as a longtime resident of the City and County of San Francisco—where trespassing homeless people just laugh at property owners who threaten to call the police, and serious repeat offenders suffer the briefest of brief detentions—we also realize that California’s loss is San Francisco’s gain. We are well rid of the worst prosecutor in recent memory.

All of which sets the stage for this week's bombshell headline: Outgoing Mayor Gavin Newsom (who was elected in November as Lieutenant Governor) as just announced his replacement to fill the vacancy in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office created by Harris’ recent departure.

Who did he appoint?

The (former) incumbent San Francisco Chief of Police George Gascón (who happens to be a licensed attorney) is now San Francisco’s newest district attorney.

In view of the dismal state of San Francisco law enforcement, and the negative effect that has had on quality of life and safety issues for all San Franciscans, we applaud this “outside the box” appointment by outgoing Mayor Newsom.

As far as we know, no sitting police chief has ever become a district attorney anywhere in the country.

But San Franciscans are in dire need of a top prosecutor who will enforce the law, and San Francisco’s finest need to know that if they make an arrest, they are not wasting their time.

It would appear that George Gascón fills the bill.

Read more.

Blue Valentine

I went to see Blue Valentine tonight with Lesley and Jem.

I had been wanting to see it ever since I read how they shot it. The film is set over two periods, about 6 years apart. So they filmed the first part 6 years ago, and the last part recently. That was a really exciting idea for me. To have people that committed to a project that they'd start it and come back. I can't think of anything which I started 6 years ago which I'd come back to. I'd just want to start the whole thing again.

The film itself is a pretty depressing look at how a relationship can fall apart. All the two main characters' initial stages of falling in love are intertwined with the dying days of their marriage. It's the sort of film that I watch and wish I was in a relationship because I'd love to see if I could do better. I'm not sure I could, it's probably just the arrogance of the untested but these sorts of films make me want to give it a shot. It's funny how films about relationships failing make me more desirous of a relationship than films where things go well.

Anyway, the film is very well done. Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling are both wonderful. The script is very well written. And the direction is pretty spot on. Nothing is over played. My biggest issue with the film is that I struggled to see how Ryan Gosling's character could change so much over the time period of the film, but I think that mainly is due to the wardrobe. The old-Gosling/new-Gosling change is most significant in his clothes. The worst bit of the film certainly is his 2010 wardrobe, all red-neck and seedy glasses. Still it's not actually a huge part of the film, but it did bug me.

Aside from that, it's excellent. It won't cheer you up, but it is quality cinema.

Feeling the Curse

Today I spent most of the day at work reading celebrity tweets. It was hard. I want to go back to my normal work of watching YouTube. That's much better toil.

Pixar