Midnite shakes Itaquera: About 30,000 people attended the 8th Grito de Carnaval Reggae!

On January 28, 2007... the São Paulo region of Itaquera, more precisely Av. Jacú Pêssego, was the stage for the 8th Reggae Carnival Shout, an initiative by Associação Cultural Reggae and São Paulo City Hall. It was not just a memorable show for Itaquera (which is part of the huge list of emerging neighborhoods), but for São Paulo itself, which was able to bring together around 30 thousand people at an event with the sole and exclusive desire to witness a good show. We won't go into the scope of the issue, but the outskirts showed a lesson in respect and solidarity, as in addition to bringing kilos and more kilos of food, they also starred in scenes where PAZ and REGGAE were hand in hand. Did you hear, Babylon? Is it possible... With a lot of struggle, Associação Cultural Reggae put together a cast of highly respected bands, such as the Reggae Style, Jahcareggae, Solano Jacob, Family Roots family, formed by members and former members of Filosofia Reggae and Jah I Ras, and the most anticipated of the day, the renowned Ilhas Virgens band, Midnite. At approximately 7:00 pm, anticipation began to hit the completely packed Av. Jacú Pêssego, and after a quick sound check, Midnite took over the stage. With Ron on bass, originally on keyboards, and without guitarist Abijah, it was obvious that the performance would not be the same as in 2002, but those who were pessimistic quickly changed their minds as soon as the imposing instrumental began to punish the venue's speakers. Only those who attended can "tentar" explain the relentless weight of the Ron Benjamin's bass, who, to the surprise of some, knows everything about the "treme-terra" instrument. Between successes and more successes from the band like "Pagan Pay Gone" and "Ras To The Bone", a heavy rain starts to fall, but as in 2002 where the rain also appeared at Midnite's presentation, no one left the place, quite the opposite, it seems to have made the crowd fire up even more. "Love The Life you Live" raised chilling choruses. Normally, Midnite puts on huge shows, and almost always goes beyond the agreed time to the delight of the fans present, but this time we were left with a short, but undeniably intense presentation. Vaughn Benjamin did not hide his satisfaction and served everyone with great affection and humor backstage. For Associação Cultural Reggae, all we can do is thank you very much... for "reggae para todos", for your attention and especially for your social awareness. Now the spotlight is on other Roots Reggae revelations worldwide: Matisyahu this Wednesday, the 31st, and S.O.J.A. at Brasil in March! Fyahh!

IMAGENS OF THE EVENT

 Click here and see photos from this event.

MULTIMEDIA

Click here and see the band Midnite with "Ras to the Bone".