Abyssinians at Mean Fiddler / Astoria 09.03.05

Grievous Angel

Beast of Burden
Anyone else going to see the Abyssinians and Dillinger tonight ?

I'm going, ticket's in my pocket and I can't wait. Eden probably going too last I heard. Part of my extended birthday celebrations!
 

john eden

male pale and stale
Seven o'clock start? Vince Power's "pack 'em in, chuck 'em out, get 'em in again for a club" policy is going haywire. :mad:

Yeah, will try to make it down, but just had 2 days off sick. Should be bloody great.
 

redcrescent

Well-known member
Saw the Vienna show and was especially impressed by the Abyssinians - time has not dulled the edge of those lovely harmonies. Hope sax man Dean Fraser is also at the London gig, he was great as well.
Enjoy!
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Grievous Angel

Beast of Burden
Oh my god... totally, absolutely awesome. One of the greatest musical experiences of my life. The Abyssinians are just overwhelming. More later when I've come down a bit.

Dillinger on top form too.

Wow.

Almost as good as the Clash in 1980.
 

Grievous Angel

Beast of Burden
No, still haven't come down yet. A fantastic, all-encompassing, life-changing, spiritual experience. It was utterly obvious from the minute the Abyssinians came on that this wasn't just a gig, it was a public ritual to envelope the people there assembled in the redemptive power of Love. And it worked. The slow, gentle, delicate drip-drip-drip of vocal harmonies slowly built up until I was bobbing on an ocean of compassion. For me, the peak came during "Going Home to Zion", which broke down to just the voices and the horns, endlessly cycling round a single refrain, and I felt ALL the pain of seperation from my family, and then ALL the relief of the love pouring from the stage, and an explosion of emotion burst from my stomach up through my spine and through the top of my head, and tears just flowed down my face. I needed a hug after that one.

Absolutely, totally, mind- blowing. Calling it "music" scarcely does it justice -- yes it was one of, if not the, best shows I've ever seen, but it was so much more than that.

What I can't believe is that they've been doing this for thirty, forty years, they're in their sixties, but they sound... just perfect. And I feel so, so lucky that I managed to go see them, because surely they won't be able to continue to be as good as this for many more years?

Anyone who gets a chance MUST go and see the Abyssinians -- they're doing a little tour right now so keep your eyes peeled...
 

Diggedy Derek

Stray Dog
Sounds good [he grossly understated]. Their voices are still great aren't they, they sounded wonderful on Tree Of Satta volume 1; talking of which, is volume 2 ever going to come out? Or is Barrow concentrating on his new labels?
 

Grievous Angel

Beast of Burden
Yeah, Derek, their voices are... supernaturally perfect. Dunno bout the Satta album but you betcha I'm gonna get it now...

A few details so people can tell what actually happened.

First on was the Satta band, who backed everyone all night, superbly -- dunno who they are (someone tell me if you know) but apparently one of the horn players is a famous Roots Radics guy. The trombone and sax made an awesome contribution to the sound as you can imagine. Keys came from a really cool guy playing an M1 and a Trinity -- Hammond sounds were a bit plasticy but sat in the mix well, or so I thought before the power of the music overhwlmed every critical faculty.

They played a load of classic rhythms and sang lotsa big tunes on each and they just rocked it -- led by the horn players who did the singing and were fantastic.

Then Dillinger came on and he was just about as good as you could imagine. Supertight toasting / singjaying, did all the hits, including about three versions of Melting Pot that all sounded completely different. He blew the roof off and the band shredded it. Live dancehall! And there was no rock'n'roll-style farting about between sets -- or even between songs. It was like a DJ doing perfect mixing.

The Abyssinians were something else though. They looked amazing -- totally cool, wearing these wild rasta robes and turbans, like funky bishops, and they had more physical presence and projection than a million pop stars. They didn't pimp the audience at all -- they just totally focused on bringing this amazing inner spirit through to the audience, slowly letting us into its power. But boy could they dance! They threw these tiny, precise little shapes, making intricate patterns with their limbs, it was hypnotic, and slowly, slowly unwound themselves... eventually the thin one, who'd been looking the most intense and dread of the lot, undid his whole persona by doing a solo dance routine which was hilarious yet incredibly well done. They did a reasoning / rapping bit over a dub backing. They did a nyabinghi bit. They did loads of great big hands in the air sing out loud bits. It was all fantastic.

They're the best band in the world.
 

redcrescent

Well-known member
2stepfan said:
apparently one of the horn players is a famous Roots Radics guy.
They're the best band in the world.
Dean Fraser!
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Some more Abyssinians pictures from the Vienna show...
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