Israel Vibrations @ The Palladium 6/28/08
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| Once again I find myself attempting to write about this show several months after attending. Luckily I do find that I have several specific memories of that night, so I'm going to make an attempt to briefly document this show after all. I was very keen to see Israel Vibrations again because it had been over 20 years since I saw them for the first time with Brian Thorn at State Fair Grounds. Israel Vibrations are an interesting bunch. Their sound is a solid roots reggae sound that has allowed them to continue to stay relevant throughout the past three decades. The three founding members are all victims of polio and originally met while being treated for their ailments at a Jamaican hospital. Despite their physical handicaps these boys have shown the world how one can take a bad situation and turn it on it's head! The night started when I picked up Lamont and went downtown to meet Derek. Our plan was to get a bite to eat and a couple of drinks in us before making our way to the show. First stop, Jeannie's Smoke Shop to buy a couple of nice cigars. Then the three of us walked up to Bar X to drink a tankard of beer and watch a little baseball. We eventually walked down to the Marriott Hotel on 2nd South to eat and smoke our cigars on the hotel's restaurant patio. The food was really good, if not a bit expensive, and the Red Stripe beer went down pretty easy too. With a little more time left before heading off to the show, we then walked over for one last beer at Cheers To You, a favorite dive bar on Main Street. We took a seat at one of the big booths adjacent to the long bar. As I got up to order our beers I noticed that sitting at in the booth next to us was Jon Shuman and his brother Jamie (Poo Pee D). These guys are very notable figures from "back in the day" in that they were the founders of one of the most influential punk bands, The Massacre Guys, in the initial days of the SLC Punk scene. They are also cousins of my close friend Chris Thorum, and casual acquaintances of mine. I went over and said hello to them, bought them a beer, and chatted for several minutes about what they've been up to (Jon still plays music, Jamie is painting professionally) and about Chris having recently moving to Japan. Jon told me that The Massacre Guys were actually planning a reunion show at some point, so I'll be looking out for that. It was fun to see those guys after so many years. We were then off to the show. This show would be the first time for me to check out this new venue, The Palladium. The Palladium (the third club of under this moniker I've known of in this town over the past 20 years) is actually the relocated Club Suede. Club Suede used to be located in Park City (Kimball Junction) and was always a big promoter of live reggae. I was happy to see that it had merely moved down to Salt Lake and undergone a name changed instead of just disappearing completely. The new place seems quite nice. It's layout reminds me of a Texas-style honky tonk, consisting of one very large main room fronting a smallish stage and occupied mostly by a large number of rustic tables/chairs, and one long bar at the back. We arrived at just the right time. Most of the good seating at the large tables were already occupied, but some of the stools at the side bars were still open so we sat there. On the drive downtown I had been listening to KRCL's Smile Jamaica reggae show and mentioned to Lamont that by the sound of some of the cuts being played I didn't think it was my friend and regular Smile Jamaica host Robert Nelson who was the DJ that day. Sure enough, at one point the DJs came on and said that they were sitting in for Robert. Well, I happened to be wearing my KRCL "Lion of Zion" tee-shirt at the show, and when I went to buy some drinks at the back bar I spotted a guy next to me who also had the same shirt on. Turned out that he and his buddy were the DJs who had sat in for Robert on Smile Jamaica that day. I mentioned taking note of their substituting for Robert and mentioning it to my friend earlier that day. We talked for a bit and had a shot together. The opening band (can't remember the name) was a really interesting, eclectic group from Hawai'i. They were a fairly large group of about 8 consisting of both men and women of various ages. While the lead singer was a 20-something guy, the most interesting group member was a typical looking Hawaiian grandmother who sported a traditional "Hilo Hattie" style hat, sung backup on most songs, and seemed to serve as the unofficial "hype man." She was very effective too! They played a solid brand of contemporary reggae and had several of us up and dancing from the beginning . Israel Vibrations eventually took the stage and sounded great from the get go. I did noticed right away that instead of the main three vocalists who have always made up the band there were now only two. Don't know the story behind that, but at least they still sounded great. The crowd seemed to swell and most were on their feet and dancing in front of the stage. At one point I went to try and snap a few photos of the band and Lamont became pretty aggressive in using his "bodyguard technique" to escort me through the thickest part of the crowd. Some people were not too happy but no one was going to start anything with a 6' 4" black dude. I just tried to smile and concentrated on working my camera. Ironically, despite Lamont's efforts at getting me into a spot front and center, most all of my shots turned out poorly. Thanks anyway Lamont! The show sounded great and was fairly lengthy. Although everyone was having a good time, Derek and Lamont both seemed to tire at times and spent much of the time seated on their bar stools while I continued to casually dance. Sometimes I can't help it! Eventually Lamont started to really fade. He hadn't had that much to drink, but he was definitely tired. At one point he started to almost be napping in his seat. I sensed the show was very close to coming to an end and suggested we beat the rush and head out. Turned out to be just the right thing to do. As soon as Lamont got into my car he put back the seat and immediately fell asleep. I couldn't help but laugh. As we approached his house he started talking gibberish in a half sleep state. I was laughing out loud now! Once at his house I basically poured him out of the car and watched to make sure he made it inside. Hilarious Lamont! Great night guys! Thanks! |