PERFECT: Alpha Blondy rules the night in an emotional show at Credicard Hall!

The 14th arrived. Alpha Blondy, the great name in world reggae, came to São Paulo for another major show. The night belonged to him alone, with no opening bands. After a memorable appearance in Rio de Janeiro the day before, São Paulo fans counted the minutes to enjoy the great performance of the prince of Côte d'Ivoire. Held at Credicard Hall, the event was scheduled to start at 22:00, but there was a considerable delay of approximately an hour and a half. Even so, that time was not enough to drive anyone away or attract any negative thoughts. The vibrations were in the air. People from various Brazilian states and even from abroad, such as a French couple we met (foto), filled what would become one of the most roots nights of the year, remembering that we had great names like Sly & Robbie and Culture, which Surforeggae covered. We also ran into personalities such as Jai Mahal, the ever-present DJs Tux and Zambol, Luiz Reggae Soul, Carlos Solano of Leões de Israel, Dagô Miranda, in short, people who already had more than a marked presence at an event of this magnitude. When impatience began to show, the lights went out and the atmosphere became immersive. The show began. Without much ceremony, the backing vocals took over the stage with incredible energy (vídeo). After the honors of the house, Alpha Blondy took the stage... and then it was time to hold on and, as was said over the speakers: "fasten your seatbelts" (vídeo). He opened with the wonderful classic "Jerusalem", from the 1986 album titled the same. From there on, what the prince had up his sleeve was no joke. From 1990, the rescue came through the album "SOS Guerre Tribale" with the beautiful "Babylone-Kêlê". Alpha Blondy sang many songs from his latest album "Merci", released last year by EMI. He also reminisced with his competent, huge and inseparable band Solar System on old hits like "Peace in Liberia", "Massada", "Brigadier Sabary", "Cocody Rock", "Jah Glory" and as already mentioned "Jerusalem" and "Politiki". With the importance of the artist we were watching, and the quality of the sound made before our eyes, it was almost impossible to hold back, and the most exalted showed up. Some people managed to get on stage even with a considerable number of security guards, because at that point that was all there was, and the press could only record the first 4 songs. But back to the good part, the singer showed no star attitude and was not passive about the invasions; on the contrary, he even helped fans join the band and they danced to those heavy beats (foto01 / foto02). On one of those occasions he even received a cap with a colorful Rastafarian motif (foto). There were several stage invasions after that "approval" from Blondy, but everything stayed under control and the singer still thanked the security saying: "Thank you Securities... Obrigado, Securities!". From the album "Yitzhak Rabin", the hit "Guerre Civile" was a high point of the show given the madness of our local and global everyday life. Another classic from that same 1998 album was "Hypocrites". Once again we witnessed the entire event near the speakers, but this time it was not just the bass commanding our pulses; now the percussion, together with the drums, were carefully heavy and paired with the peculiar string instrument. Magnificent. The horns (foto), were of vital importance in several songs. Blondy was the supreme master of Credicard Hall that night, and that was evident in the joy of his vocals, acts and movements (vídeo). But all good things... wait... don't last long? The show lasted approximately 2 hours. The feeling certainly came from two sources: there was no opening band and, more obviously: first-class Reggae Roots making every living being in that venue surrender to the charms of Jah's rhythm!

EVENT IMAGES

 Click here and see the photos from this event.

MORE INFORMATION

 See also the Alpha Blondy story from Salvador.

MULTIMEDIA

Click here and watch Alpha Blondy live with "Jerusalem".