July 1, 2011 Steel Pulse

Prospect Park hosted Steel Pulse for their Celebrate Brooklyn summer concert series and what a concert it was. The band played with energy and excitement for two hours of non-stop music that was sublime, political, spiritual and inspired. At a time in our nation’s history when we are hearing from schlock politicians preaching the oppression of the white race and  religious extremists falsely predicting the Second Coming of Jesus, Steel Pulse radiates a joyous political quasi religious fervor that makes you want to believe in the goodness of mankind even when faced with real, instead of imagined, oppression.  From the opening note, a festival size crowd of every color and hue was up on its feet dancing, waving, and lifting colorful handkerchief engraved images of Bob Marley into the air, as David Hinds pranced and danced across the stage singing all the crowd favorites Ravers, Roller Skates, Chant a Psalm, Worth His Weight in Gold, Earth Crisis, Blues Dance Rave, Bodyguard.  With Steel Pulse you always get the full reggai rastafari experience: the wailing guitars of David Hinds and Basil Gabbidon, the driving bass of Amlak Tafari, and the soaring keyboard of Selwyn “Bumbo” Brown and Sidney 'Predator' Mills. David Hinds never lets you forget that it’s not all about the music, but about the fate of the world’s suffering oppressed people. The concert ended with Hold On 4 Haiti, a song about the forgotten earthquake victims in Haiti where over 200,000 people were killed and where cholera is killing tens of thousands more.  The proceeds are going to the Solar Electric Light Fund. Bob Marley would be proud.