PRESS CLIPS

Latest Show Review from the
Toots and The Maytals Show at Pearl Street Northampton, MA

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(From The Republican)
Reggae Legends Energize Crowd
Thursday, September 23, 2004
By DONNIE MOORHOUSE,Music writer
NORTHAMPTON
Reggae legends Toots and the Maytals headlined Pearl Street’s Ballroom on Monday night,
nearly selling out the large room for a two-hour performance.

The 16-song set included many cuts from the newly released “True Love” CD.
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Review
Toots Hibbert is credited with giving reggae music its name.
In 1968, the Jamaican singer worked up the hit single “Do The Reggay”
and one of rock music’s most enduring forms was born.
Toots has influenced everyone from Keith Richards to Sean Paul.
With his backing band The Maytals (two guitars, bass, drums, and keyboards),
Toots worked through “Time Tuff,” showing off early some of his more ambitious dance moves.
But he wasn’t about to go it alone. “I am the teacher and you are my students,”
Toots told the audience. “And reggae is all I know.”
The bandleader had his charges singing, dancing, and clapping out rhythms throughout the night.
There were hundreds of heads bobbing, hips swaying, and it seemed that
all present knew every beat and every line of Toots’ historical repertoire.
The group offered “True Love Is Hard To Find,” a song that is
sung as a duet with Bonnie Raitt on the new CD, and “Pressure Drop,”
which turned the room into an undulating dance hall.
It was nearly impossible to escape the euphoria in the room.
Even those more subtle revelers who found their way to the perimeter
were compelled to dance. It was either dance or get hit by someone who was dancing.
Toots proved to be equal parts James Brown, George Clinton, and ... John Denver?
His reworked cover of a Denver hit may have been the highlight of the night.
Toots manipulated a reggae groove using the chorus from Denver’s “Country Roads, Take Me Home.”
Toots brought it home with “Do The Reggay” and an extended jam on “54-46 (That’s My Number”),
leaving the stage after attempting to shake every hand in the front row.
The big surprise of the night was the rousing opening set by local group the Fear Nuttin Band.
The locals wrapped dancehall around a little dash of thrash to win over the crowd.
Fronted by the dual vocal attack of Prowla and Roosta,
the band surged through a 30 minute set that even
had members of the Maytals coming out of the dressing room to catch the groove.
There was enough energy coming off the stage during the FNB performance
to provide power for a small town. When Prowla and Rooster
urged the hesitant crowd to come forward and be counted,
they did, dancing through the remainder of the show.