It was at the Crystal Ballroom Portland Or. on Feb 6th 2006 that The Legendary Wailers Lineup came to town. I was 17 and I convinced my mother to purchase the tickets on the occasion of an upcoming eighteenth birthday!! She did of-course and after work her and I headed-west from Gresham into Portland town..

The opening act was impressive. When the Pocket-Dwellers came on stage that night they brought it! I enjoyed their blend of Funk, Hip-Hop, and R&B;styles. The lead singer was very soulful and could flow smoothly and fast. At one point he improvised some crazy-ass rhymes!

  Finally The Wailers started to appear. I was unfamiliar with who was the original wailers then and I couldn’t match the faces very well. I wasn’t a true fan then and I most certainly didn’t do my Roots Reggae homework..  It was at the precise moment in time that I felt what my true heartbeat was! The one-drop on the third beat… Drummie Zeb fascinated me with his endurance and skill and i couldn’t help but watch him almost lead the band. Familyman’s Bass does that of-course and I was en-tranced with the musical co-operation between the two.

Elan wasn’t there but another older jamaican singer was… Al Anderson was there by some odd chance and tore it up on lead guitar. I remember some kid attempting to offer a puff of a joint while Al was in the middle of a solo.. He declined….lol

The set they did lasted around two hours. I remember them doing Soul Shakedown Party, Sun is Shining, and all the standard bob tunes.

I want to hear their new album so bad…..