The One Festival at Maritime Hall

Day 3: Johnny Osbourne, Shinehead, and Nadine Sutherland

By Matty Tice

On the weekend of August 18, 2B1 Productions presented the fourth annual One Festival and I made it down to Maritime Hall for the third night of festivities. A few of my favorite dancehall artists were performing and to my surprise Everton Blender’s Blend Dem Band was the house band. The Blend Dem Band got things started with a strong instrumental version of Bob Marley’s "I Shot the Sheriff," with the lead guitar playing the melody.

The MC took the stage and introduced the talented and beautiful Nadine Sutherland who rocked her 1993 dancehall hit "Baby Face," segueing into the "My Love is Your Love" dancehall anthem. The Blend Dem Band’s precision riddims had a classic booming dancehall sound, a perfect compliment to Nadine’s vocal. I only wished there were more people there to enjoy it and give some energy back, but it was still early in the night. Nadine paid tribute to her pr edecessors with her rendition of Dawn Penn’s "No, No, No." This was followed by the song I was hoping she would perform, "Action." This 1993 collaboration with Terror Fabulous was one of the few dancehall songs to break into mainstream radio in the early 90’s and it certainly was a pleasure to here it live. In the glow of the small crowd’s lighters, Nadine closed her set with a powerful version of Bob Marley’s "Redemption Song."

For some reason the headliner, Johnny Osbourne (sporting a full denim outfit), took the stage next and prematurely opened with one of his biggest and best hits on the Sleng Teng Riddim, "Mr. Budy Bye," which only lasted about two minutes. The versatile Blend Dem Band then laid a heavy dub foundation for Johnny’s 1981 hit, "Ice Cream Love." Johnny got the crowd to participate in a call and response fashion while making medleys out of his hit songs. Johnny announced that the sound system "fail fe bass," and asked the soundman to push it as far as it would go, and push it as far as it would go he did. Johnny continued to freestyle over the next riddim, which was tinged with Fiddler on the Roof melodies followed by his own version of "So Long, Farewell" from The Sound of Music. His choice of show tunes seemed appropriate for his San Francisco performance. Johnny closed his set with a reprise of "Ice Cream Love," leaving me still longing for more "Budy Bye," oh well.

The Blend Dem Band brought in the final set with an instrumental version of Bob Marley’s "Jammin." The MC proceeded to introduce Shinehead, now the headliner. Hailing from New York, this Jamaica native’s ever-animated performance is always a delight to catch. I new it would be fun despite the light turnout. Shinehead opened with his 1990 hit "Strive" from his "Real Rock" LP followed by the lover’s rock "Golden Touch" from his commercially successful 1988 release, "Unity." Shinehead honored the late Dennis Brown by performing a few of the Crowned Prince of Reggae’s songs, including "Living in the House of the Father." After this solemn moment things quickly turned wild and a little disorderly. Shinehead took up the bass and offered the microphone to a member of the audience, which resulted in an obviously irritated MC taking the stage and putting an end to the innocent melee. Undaunted, Shinehead continued to keep the vibes positive and proceeded to mash up the Maritime Hall with some wicked dancehall that put smiles on the musicians faces and kept the crowd dancing. Bigging Up Dennis Brown, Shinehead closed out the night with "Sitting and Watching." Nuff respect to The Blend Dem Band for their expert musicianship and their superb amalgamation of a variety of styles that evening. A good time was had by all.

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About the reviewer, Matty Tice