Chapter 79- The Original Wailers at Shank Hall

Thanks to my favorite radio station 88Nine Radio Milwaukee, I won free tickets to see The Original Wailers at Shank Hall last week.  When I called in, DJ Marcus Doucette and I talked briefly about my name, my birthday, my phone number (all are pretty unusual) and my knack for winning things.   I tend to be lucky with things like this and other small or insignificant things.  But after my conversation, I decided to buy a lottery ticket.  No luck though, I did not become a millionaire in the past week.

Back to the show…I got my friend Margo to come with me, and we arrived late (I can actually blame it on lack of parking from construction.  Well that and we both had a bunch of kids to get down for bed before we could leave home) and grabbed a drink.   The music was great, a lot of Bob Marley songs and some original.   The lead singer, Chet Samuels, had a smooth voice, and didn’t sound to be imitating Bob Marley or anything.  He had his own mellow style.  Howard Smith was on drums, and though I know nothing about percussion, I thought his playing was tight and on point.

Al Anderson was on lead guitar and during a small intermission, serenaded us all with some “noodling” (improv and continuous solo playing).

I was really impressed with everyone, but in particular the bass player Rohan Reid (pictured above).  His solo was incredible!  It was clear that he branches out from doing Raggae and plays jazz and other styles of music.

After a while of just hanging out in the back and watching, my friend turned to me and asked why we weren’t out on the floor dancing.   It was clear that much of the crowd was having a good time but felt self-conscious about dancing.  So we abandoned our drinks and made our way to the front of the crowd and danced like ladies I made fun of at one point in my life.

Thanks Radio Milwaukee for the tickets!  It was a great chance to get out and see some of what the city has to offer.

What about you?  Have you seen any good shows lately?  Are you coming to Quarters to see ROM (my friend’s band) with me on Sept 26?

A. Storm