Live Review: Easy Star Allstars @ Stuyvesant Town Oval

June 26, 2009 - 12:40pm — Katie Camosy

Editor's Note: This blog post was contributed by Cam Hassard, who previously reviewed Colin Hay for Zoom In Online. This time he's giving his thoughts on the Easy Star All Stars, a collective reggae group who focus on covering well-known albums and revamping them with a reggae and dub style; their first album was a cover of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon creatively named Dub Side of the Moon.

The Easy Star All Stars - New York City 06/24/09

Whenever I inform the uninitiated about a reggae remake of Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’, the reaction is usually a raised eyebrow of quizzical scepticism.

The Easy Stars have since built on that early headway, releasing equally courageous projects, reimagining Radiohead’s ‘Ok Computer' under the moniker ‘Radiodread’, and ‘Easy Star Lonely Hearts Dub Band’, a reggaefied take on the Beatles classic. Interpreted, arranged and produced by guitarist Michael Goldwasser, the Easy Stars have continually balanced an appeal to both mainstream rock fans and hardcore reggae aficionados.

On Wednesday 24th, the Lonely Heart world tour made a generous hometown pit stop for a free outdoor gig at the Stuy Town oval to an embracing New York crowd.

It was a love-fuelled, appreciative family vibe from word go, the band barrelling across Dub Side with ‘Breathe’ and ‘Great Dub in the Sky’ receiving an early run, interspersed with moments of ‘Pepper’ and ‘With a Little Help From My Friends’.

Bursting onto stage, frontman Menny More pumped the energy levels skyward with his exuberant charisma, toastin’ big tunes to inclement skies, which, thankfully returned the love by holding off on the deluge. The crowd were soon lathered into a smooth skank, Bassist/Vocalist, archetypal dread Ras I Ray, soothing all with his effortless bottom end and resonant rasta croon in ‘Time’. Guitarist Shelton Garner shone with balance, doing both Dave Gilmore and John Lennon justice in ‘Money’ and ‘Day in the Life’, on axe and lead vox respectively.

Radiodread was given its share of air, Horns Jenny Hill and Buford O’Sullivan flourishing with lush synchronicity on ‘Paranoid Android’. Crowd favourites ‘Lucky’ and ‘Karma Police’ also scored a run, commanded by the velvet vocals of Kirsty Rock, her bellow in ‘Great Gig in the Sky’ one of the night’s significantly stunning events.

Ever an admirer of the sonic perfection of the Easy Star studio sound, it was a thrill to find that their live nous was equally top notch. The borderline 2 hour performance covered the spectrum, the vibe in Study Town rock solid, the hometown crowd feeling every bit a part of the Easy Dub family.