PUNKCAST#345
Congo Ashanti Roy w/the Jammyland All Stars
The Hook - Brooklyn
Oct 12 2003
sponsored by
WWWhatsup Online Pinstand
with thanks to The Hook and Jammyland


'Music Is The Key'

The Hook is a new venue in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn. A little hard to find - even the local car service that I took from the subway got lost on the way there. Once arrived, however, one finds it to be worth the effort - the cheery barmaid supplies a free Guinness in production of the car service receipt - and the room is large, with a good stage, well lit, and a nice courtyard out back for the smokers, as well as a comfy outhouse dressing room for the bands. Ras Kush is rocking the sound system. A fair crowd has shown up to see Congo Ashanti Roy, fresh from Jamaica, backed by the Jammyland All Stars, which. in it's ever-fluid line-up tonight includes King Django, a hot frontman in his own right. Also in the area is Ari-Up, who frequently jumps on stage to add extra spice. Including Django's warm up, and Ari doing a song or two of her own, the whole show runs a good two hours, and is thoroughly enjoyable. With Roy fresh off the plane, there has been no time for rehearsal, so there's an engaging give-and-take between him and the band. As well as Congos hits like Congoman, and Row Fisherman Row, they covered a couple of reggae classics such as Dennis Brown's 'Love & Hate' and also Alton Ellis' 'Breaking Up' - where definitely a rehearsal or two might have helped. It is sublime, all the same (see clip below). Later in the show Roy invited a girl from audience - Chava Mirel - to duet with him, and this one definitely had been rehearsed. They brought the house down with a sweet acapella tune 'Music Is The Key'...









And yes i have knocked up a VCD of the show, just the Congo Ashanti Roy tunes. Roy himself has just recently acquired a DVD player, and so he was keen to take some back to Yard. Bass player and perpetual perfectionist Ira of Jammyland is less enthusiastic, and I had the feeling as I gave him copies for the band, he'd happily see it buried, Hopefully he's mellowed after looking at it. The audio is good, but I had to plug into the headphone out on the board and there are some slight drops occasionally as the soundman sets levels. 17 songs. You can get a copy from the pinstand for $4 inc. mail ($5 foreign) - if interested email orders@pinstand.com with the subject=VCD345, and I'll let you know the process. Or just paypal straight into that same address.


capture captain: joly
date posted: 10/28/03

www.jammyland.com

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