Greetings Reggae Fans!

Once again the City of Cleveland had the pleasure of hosting the legendary Toots and the Maytals at the House of Blues, a juke joint atmosphere with great sound. It was a refreshing place not just to hear, but to listen and enjoy really good reggae music. Toots Hibbert introduced himself saying, "I'm the teacher you're the student." The lesson for the evening was happiness and soul. "He got soul, she got soul, we got soul, everybody got soul ... REGGAy got Soul!" Toots started out full of energy and joy with his sound of roots rock reggae and about an hour into the show he and the Maytals slowed it down to a few sweet 70's r&b grooves like 'True Love is Hard to Find', definitely taking you back to the roots. The band did a smooth rendition of 'Bam Bam' that had the crowd reminiscing. I wondered if maybe he needed to catch his breath! That's just what he did before the Pressure Dropped and he gave it to us one time, two times with 'Funky Kingston'! Then Toots and the Maytals had the crowd jumping up and down at 150 miles per hour with their rhythm at 175 beats per minute and then it was our turn to catch our breath! The crowd was jumping like a Saturday night church revival swinging, swaying, screaming and smiles beaming. Toots was very thankful for the love he received from his Cleveland fans who waited 3 years for his return. He showed his gratitude with many gestures of head bows and placing his fist to his heart. He took the time out during the show to autograph a few pictures, a coat, a folder ... pretty much anything you'd give him, he'd sign. Toots stated "People want to know if I aged ..." Well he didn't perform his famous 'turn and drop-split'. That might be a sign of graceful maturity. However, for Toots seniority he gave a very youthful energetic performance. Some young performers today don't have the moves, liveliness and spirit Toots gives. Toots Nathaniel Hibbert always speaks of diversity and cultural kinship between all humans. It doesn't matter if your black or white, natty dread or no locks, his music is to bring all to an understanding of peace and unity! In addition to Toots performance in the House of Blues Music Hall, the reggae didn't stop there but continued in their Cambridge Room with a local reggae band, Outlaws I&I, from Lorain, Ohio. According to Ohio Magazine (March 2005), Blues Brother Dan Akroyd describes the Cambridge Room as the heart of the "hang scene" which kept the party rocking way after the Toots and the Maytals concert ended.

Mi seh de show sweet nuh rass!

Peace!

Sojourner Tre'