Bob Marley: still dead. The Wailers, however, are quite alive. The remaining members of Marley's band made sure this fact was far from lost on the approximately 200 audience members in attendance at the Pearl Street Ballroom in Northampton last Wednesday.
Although the Wailers existed in various forms since their creation in 1963, Bob Marley and his band had little success outside of Jamaica until the early 1970's. It was then that Marley first teamed up with Aston "Familyman" Barrett and his brother Carlton Barrett. As Marley's musical director, Familyman was behind the unique sound of the Wailers, both on stage and in the studio. He recruited and trained all of the musicians that played on stage with Marley, from the horn players down to the backup singers.
Despite Marley's death in 1981, Familyman and the Wailers continued the legacy of their front man. While it would be impossible to replace the inimitable Marley, the current Wailers still manage to pack a lot of energy into performances. Lead singer Elan Attias, who channels much of Marley's influential style and message of unity and love, now fills the difficult vocal 'shoes' of Marley.
Passafire, a four-person reggae-rock outfit hailing from Savannah, GA, opened the show. Clearly indebted to Bradley Nowell and the rest of Sublime, the band pushed through over half a dozen effects-laden songs, getting the crowd mildly aroused.
As the Wailers prepared to perform, the smoky haze near the front of the stage seemed to suggest that a burning building was nearby, but nonetheless that was not the case.
Familyman emerged to loud applause with the rest of the Wailers in tow. Quickly launching into a saxophone and trumpet-fueled introductory groove, things got off to an anti-climatic start, with lead singer Attias nowhere to be found. After nearly ten minutes of jamming, vocals began to float into the mix, and Attias stormed onto the stage dressed in a camouflaged military-style jacket.
Familyman had an intriguing presence on stage. Despite his immediately-noticeable diminutive size, he seemed to exude power from his position behind Attias next to the drum kit. With a dark beard, colorful clothing and golden aviators covering his frozen expression, it was clear whom the rest of the band was watching for essential cues.
The crowd began to groove as the Wailers rolled out a seemingly-endless array of Marley-era pseudo-covers. "Crazy Baldheads" featured Attias ripping off his camouflaged coat, revealing a "Jamaican Rebel" T-shirt.
Next up was a medley of "Stir It Up" and "Is This Love," two mid-tempo songs that nonetheless fired up the crowd of mainly college-aged students, who chanted along with Attias during most of the songs.
Although the Wailers did not have Matisyahu joining them for "No Woman, No Cry," as they did at the Langerado Festival last month, it still was a rousingly-successful rendition. At its completion, Familyman's bass line led into the set's final song, "Jammin," which the band powered through effortlessly.
Only Attias and the band's guitarist initially returned on stage for the encore, with the two attempting a muted version of "Redemption Song." This version seemed to lack the soul of the original, however, despite the song being a clear fan favorite. On the whole, Attias did a stand-up job filling in for Marley, a difficult task for any individual.
The rest of the Wailers reemerged for "Exodus," which ultimately evolved into a 15-minute version of the song from the 1976 album of the same name. Attias used the extended jam to provide an introduction to the various band members, with each responding with a lengthy solo. Unsurprisingly, the largest crowd reaction was indeed for Familyman, who laid down a truly funky bass solo.
With the end of "Punky Reggae Party," the band walked off stage, leaving some (most likely inebriated) members of the audience audibly displeased with the short performance. However, a large majority seemed content with what it saw. Traveling all the way from Jamaica, they came, they wailed and they proved that they are far more than just Marley's old musicians.
Nick Bush can be reached at nbush@student.umass.edu.
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