Entertaining, and Being Entertained at Reggae Rising 1

10:05 AM by Ren , under , ,



The annual reggae festival at the Humboldt/Mendocino County border along Highway 101 has been a tradition of mine for over a decade. To many from Humboldt County it can be somewhat of a family reunion the way that we are able to reconnect with people we probably haven't seen since the prior year's event.

Filming one of my favorite musicians, Gentleman

(Photo by Kim Sallaway)

Of course, this tradition has transformed from a chance to let loose for a weekend, to a weekend full of responsibility since I started working on the film crew in 2004. Every year our crew seems to make better and better videos, which we all are proud of. This year, we were also able to entertain the crowd better with the help of two high definition projectors on the side of the stage (a major upgrade from more primitive projectors used in prior years).

I'm compared to Michael Jordan for all the wrong reasons



The music at this year's event was as good as ever, and I was very impressed with all of the surprise guests. The High Grade All Stars' set featured Mike Marshall, the guy who sings the hook for the legendary hip-hop song "I've Got 5 On It," and, of course, they performed that song and even mixed in some local references in the lyrics. Equipto also made a guest appearance during that set, which made for the first time I've ever seen him live. Some other artists that I spotted who were not scheduled performers were Yami Bolo, and Stevie Culture.
The biggest surprise, in my opinion, was the high quality performance put on by the British band "Aswad." You may remember their brief time on the US pop charts with "Don't Turn Around," but unbeknownst to me, they never "turned pop" and put on some of the "most authentic" sounding reggae I heard all weekend. Check out this clip I was on camera for where they play some nice dub:
(Go on Youtube to watch in HD!)



Marcia Griffiths also put on a good show



Festival Atmosphere


One thing that is so fun about Reggae Rising, and all of the Northern California music festivals is the fun, and sometimes odd atmosphere. Many random things can be seen, and heard, it all makes for a great time. Probably the most random conversations/debates I became a part of is how you can't get a DUI on a Segway, only a "Drunk in Public." OK.........

Reggae culture everywhere


The herb smoking puppets (popular with the kids haha)


Disc-Golf backstage


The Couch Story
(It wasn't this couch)

Probably one of the weirdest things I saw all weekend was during Rebelution's set. As I sat in our lounge backstage I saw on our TV a couch being "crowdsurfed" in the thick of the masses. It was one of those things that makes you want to rub your eyes to see if you are really seeing what you think you are. My astonishment drove me to run to the front of the stage, via the quickest route, under the stage! By the time I got to the front, the couch had been set down near the front and people were dancing on it. During intermissions you could find people lounging on it and rolling joints.


Message board (for people who regret getting AT&T cell service)


Side angle of the stage


Right before filming on the back camera


Coworker, Joell, working in the thick of the crowd


One of the best things to come out of Reggae Rising 2009 is how soon we were able to get beautiful, HD footage of the concert on Youtube. Check below for the link, and when admiring the quality of the video, remember that these were mixed live, and there was no rehearsal. We never know what these artists are going to do!

http://www.youtube.com/ReggaeRising09



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