EXCLUSIVE: X-ray of the Conexão Brasil Jamaica tour with Don Carlos, Apple Gabriel and Aline Duran!

Conexão Brasil x Jamaica – Surforeggae closely followed the entire trajectory of these beasts on this great tour and brings you first-hand this exclusive coverage of everything that happened on stage and behind it.

AND THE JOURNEY BEGINS

The first two shows of the Tour were scheduled at the infamous Niceto Club, in Buenos Aires. The arrival of the Surforeggae/Intershows team took place in the early hours of June 28th, days before the first show, as Apple Gabriel (founding member of Israel Vibration) would disembark in the morning at Buenos Aires on a flight from All the suspense caused by the Press in Brazil regarding Gripe Suína was denied upon arrival. Evidently the problem was happening, but you could see everyone going about their lives normally and you didn't see masks everywhere as you imagined. After hours of delay due to several checks carried out by health authorities, Apple finally appeared in her guerrilla style clothes and full of accessories in green, yellow and red. The difficult character of Apple Gabriel is unanimous among International Reggae producers and musicians, and this was confirmed in the first days of living with him. The artist who was at Argentina for the second time (the first was in 1995 with Israel Vibration) had rare moments of good humor and satisfaction, which was evidently one of the reasons for his departure from Israel Vibration. All these problems had to be overcome with great calm, patience and coolness on the part of the entire Technical Team, Musicians, Production, Hotel Employees, Concert Halls, among others who witnessed the singer's attacks of stardom. But luckily, an example of charisma and simplicity called Don Carlos was on the same tour, which often helped everyone not lose their minds. Don, arrived on June 30th at Buenos Aires and brought a surprise this time – his son Don Ulwazi Spencer, 13 years old who already plays drums, piano, sings and makes rhymes... without a doubt a promise for Reggae lovers. At Argentina, Aline Duran would not perform, as he had done a series of shows there weeks before. Therefore, the opening was the responsibility of the local Holy Piby, a traditional group of Buenos Aires that mixes Reggae with Blues and R&B. Niceto Club, almost sold out on the first night, welcomed Apple Gabriel with open arms, who reciprocated with classics from the “Telepathic Wave”. Apple Gabriel's performance on stage takes us back to the golden times of Israel Vibration, when together with Skelly and Wiss they were undoubtedly one of the biggest Reggae groups in the world. Beloved at Argentina, after having performed two unforgettable shows in 2008, Don Carlos once again took to the stage to the delight of the public. Don came again with an overwhelming repertoire, where he even sings all the songs the audience requests, even if improvised or Acapella. In addition to the classics “Holiday”, “Just a Passing Glance”, “7 Days a Week”, “Young Girl” and “Hog & Goat”, as a novelty, he brought the classic “Ride on Christine” and an exciting appearance by his son in “Johnny Big Mouth”. We couldn't help but surprise the very special Don Carlos, who spent his birthday (June 29) on the plane that left Miami towards Buenos Aires. The show was interrupted to Don's surprise, and everyone sang happy birthday to the great master, which caused more and more tears to run down the face of the artist who has already had a 45-year career. Don said goodbye to the audience leaving a wonderful feeling that he promised to repeat the following day. As what is good deserves to be seen more than once, we noticed many people who had attended the first show were also present on the second night, which despite all the cold was transformed into another hot presentation by the Reggae masters. Apple, now more comfortable, brought the same repertoire from the first night, ending the show with “War”, the classic by Bob Marley that received a new look since his Live CD “No Racism – Live in Oregon”. At the Don Carlos show, we had a special participation by the Holy Piby musicians in “Satta Massagana”, which was sung by everyone like a true anthem. Also noteworthy are the different songs that the audience requested during breaks and Don improvised, always smiling, such as “English Woman” and “Sweet Reggae Music”.

ARE WE GOING TO BRAZIL?

Conexão Brasil x Jamaica's first show in Brazil, scheduled for However, the day started in the city with a lot of stress, due to a crisis of Apple Gabriel who, claiming to be an “International Superstar”, refused to stay at the local Hotel Master Palace (which has hosted almost all the Reggae artists who perform at Porto Alegre). After hours of stress, during which time Don Carlos even tried to convince Apple to stay, he was placed alone in Hotel Holiday Inn, where he was also not satisfied. In Apple's constant crises, it compared itself to Michael Jackson, After all the details were resolved, the show began and the public had the opportunity to see excellent performances by the artists. Debuting in Porto Alegre, Aline Duran warmed up the international audience. Highlights include the version of “No No No (You Don’t Love Me)” and also songs such as “Bem vindo à Selva”, “Pra quem Jah olha” and “É com você”, all from the CD “Novo Dia”, released by Deckdisc throughout Brazil. Apple, at each show, showed more rapport with the band and the audience, who cheered a lot in this, which was their first performance in Brazil. Highlight as always also goes to the charisma of Don Carlos who left everyone mesmerized throughout his performance.

MAGIC ISLAND

In the last tours with international Reggae attractions in Brazil, the cities of the South have been very privileged. Porto Alegre and Florianópolis are hardly left out of the Reggae legends route and that is what happened once again. Floripa once again welcomed the artists with great vibrancy, certainly being one of the warmest audiences in the country, before, during and after the show. Highlight for Aline Duran which was very applauded, and where there seems to be a number of fans who sang their songs from start to finish, even though this was their debut on Capital de Santa Catarina. Apple Gabriel brought something new to Florianópolis. The Israel Vibration classic “New Wave” was included in the repertoire to everyone's delight. His performance on stage is very good, and manages to capture the attention of those present, especially with so many of his classics being performed. Don Carlos ended the night with the purest positive vibration, leaving once again the wonderful feeling of purification that Reggae brings. Even with the schedule already very late, Don welcomed every last fan into the dressing room for photos, autographs and hugs.

5 DAYS... 5 SHOWS: BELO HORIZONTE

In Belo Horizonte, the show took place at Music Hall, an excellent music venue in the capital of Minas Gerais. Unfortunately the public did not respond as in 2008, many spoke due to the vacation period. But that wasn't why the stones stopped rolling... and there were many of them once again, and they drove everyone present into a frenzy. Even with the frenetic sequence of shows on the tour, the performance was very good and Don Carlos, even with the onset of flu, took the stage and rocked it to the delight of the fans.

REGGAE IN THE CAPITAL

For what would be the last show of the first week of performances, expectations were very good. The night was opened by the band Jah Live, which proved to be well respected by the Brasilia public who sang all the songs. Afterwards, Aline Duran took the stage doing his mix of roots reggae, with ragga and a very forward feel. Romantic and protest lyrics are the singer's favorite themes, who were well received in the capital. Apple, who was also suffering from the flu and losing some of his voice, left the stage in the middle of his performance, which completely broke the audience's vibe at his show. After adjustments made to the sound, he returned to perform the rest of the songs, but found everyone with their arms crossed and some boos, without knowing why he simply turned his back and left the stage. Closing the night, Don Carlos raised the audience again with hits such as “Zion Train”, “Frontline”, “Just Can’t Stop”, “Cool Johnny Cool” and “Movin’”. The day after the show, there was a well-deserved rest and a visit to Sindicato do Reggae, a pioneering work in Brasília that has been highlighting the roots of Jamaican music for many years. The artists were impressed by the collection of photos, newspapers, magazines, books, etc. at the Union's headquarters, which is a true museum of Reggae in Brazil.

BACK TO VICTORY

Ilhacústico, in Vitória, is one of the concert halls with the most beautiful views in Brazil. The place, which is located at the top, has a beautiful view of the beaches on the edge of the Espírito Santo Capital, which makes the shows even more magical. For what was another Quarta Reggae, the highlight was the rhythm programs on local radio stations that came together to strengthen the movement, which has been one of the strongest in the country lately, always registering a good audience. Totaling almost three and a half hours of pure reggae, the Conexão Brasil x Jamaica attractions kept the audience happy throughout the night, opening the holiday season with a flourish for local regueiros.

A SURPRISE: JUDGE FROM FORA

On recent tours by international artists, little Juiz de Fora has attracted attention. In the mid-90s, the city welcomed several big names such as Steel Pulse and The Wailers, but over time the movement became unstructured and there was a long absence of big names. Thanks to Movimento Reggae Mineiro and Reggae lovers at Juiz de Fora, the city is once again on the international concert route, and after having recorded a very good audience with Groundation in March this year, the same was repeated with Don Carlos, Apple Gabriel and Aline Duran. The miners showed up in droves and sang the songs of their Jamaican idols from start to finish. On that occasion, Apple undoubtedly performed one of his best shows on the tour, supported by the public who showed that they were fans of Israel Vibration. Don Carlos went to the concert venue early this evening just to see Aline Duran, who according to him has a promising future. At his show, Don even invited Aline to the stage to do “Satta Massagana” together.

FINAL STRAIGHT: RIO DE JANEIRO

The difficulty in scheduling the Conexão Brasil x Jamaica show in the main Rio de Janeiro venues such as Circo Voador and The night was certainly magical for the locals who are also Reggae lovers and went crazy with the hits of Apple Gabriel and also those of Don Carlos, especially those from the Black Uhuru era.

CLOSING WITH A GOLDEN KEY

The tour closed with a flourish at São Paulo, at Ginásio do Palmeiras. A very good structure was prepared, with two stages, and despite the rain that fell incessantly in the capital of São Paulo, the public showed up and cheered impressively. As one of the biggest complaints from the public in São Paulo was that international attractions always took to the stage in the early hours of the morning, this time the event's production team decided to innovate, and produced a killer sequence made up of Aline Duran, Apple Gabriel, Don Carlos, Mato Seco and Damata. Punctually at 11pm, Aline Duran took the stage, cheering everyone up with “Welcome to the jungle”. Aline's show was perhaps one of the most vibrant on the tour, and the singer felt literally at home, with her audience singing along to several of her songs. After a short break of less than 15 minutes, Apple Gabriel took the stage and literally rocked it, counting on an impressive response from the audience to each song performed. The highlight of the show was the classics “There is no end”, “Rudeboy Shufflin” and “Solomon Bloodline”, which drew applause and frantic screams from the audience. Apple liked the show so much that she expanded the repertoire, making the songs longer. The much requested encore was performed with the excellent sequence “War/No more trouble/Get Up Stand Up”. Minutes later, Don Carlos simply killed it, handing out smiles and also CDs to the audience who couldn't stop singing their various hits. As if that weren't enough, a more than special surprise: the presence of Big Brass Fusion – simply 6 brass blowing magnificently to the madness of everyone present. The artist was very moved to see the band performing the songs excellently and all those people vibrating with their sound. In a gesture he repeated at every show, after introducing everyone in the band, Don announced Surforeggae, calling on everyone to visit the site and called Rafael Costa and Israel Mizrach ahead, responsible for bringing it once again to Brazil. But the great Reggae festival didn't end there. Minutes later, on the other stage, Mato Seco started their show. The band that has grown impressively on the national scene is touring to launch its new CD “Seco mas não morto” and has shown once again why it attracts large audiences wherever it goes. Tracks like “Raiz Forte”, “Tem Que Viver” and “Construção/Deus lhe Pague” (Reggae version of the Poet's song Chico Buarque) are already on everyone's lips. To end the great night of Reggae, the band Damata performed their reggae loudly, so as not to leave anyone standing still. At that time, without a doubt the best thing was to let the sound of Reggae affect you, as the thermometers were already registering 10 degrees. And so was the Conexão Brasil x Jamaica – Reggae Heroes 2009 Tour, which promises to soon bring other big names in International Reggae. Do you have a preference? So get in touch immediately or leave your comment! The most voted candidates will certainly be able to come to Brazil soon.

EVENT IMAGES

 Click and see several images from this tour.