Luciano Does it again
8..19.04
HOB Chicago 
all pictures taken in St. Louis by Issa (click to enlarge)
review by montana

when we arrived around 845 the house of blues was eerily empty and i honestly was scared the show would flop when the 6 piece jah messenger band took to the stage at 9pm.  i mean, there were only like 20 people on the floor of the house of blues and about 150 total in there sitting around the bars when the show started.  don't people know by now that house of blues shows start on TIME? well, gladly, i was wrong. the house filled up in no time and a wicked show was underway. the fari singers, rachelle, cherelle and evonne were introduced and their sweet harmonies perfectly blended into the strong full sound of the jah messengers 6 pieces on their debut song called 'dreamland'. next, dean frasier, the sax king of reggae came out with a jazzy rendition of redemption song.  some of the audience looked around in confusion as dean turned the reggae show into a mellow jazz affair for a few minutes. mikey general entered the stage with a cry of 'JAH RASTAFARI' and flashed his locks for his 20 minute energetic set which included a rendition of jah cure's "run red" and the highlight, "standin in the way of sinners." 9:50.  Luciano came onstage with a searingly bright white selassie era uniform with the red gold and green sash and black cape and his trademark white safari hat.  after removing his hat ceremoniously and allowing his locks to cascade, his set came to life.  a true veteran performer, luci worked the stage and the first hit that sent the audience into hands up mode was "ulterior motives".  next, "sweep over my soul" had us screaming for more. he went into a set from his new album entitled "serious times" and then the audience really started to jump when the band went into the doctors darling riddim and luciano sang his hit "jah children" someone handed luciano  a plastic bag of 'something' or other    during his 'legalize it' and he proceded to show it to the audience and even start to open and unwrap it during his tune!  he went into a lively "i will survive" next and then slowed down the tempo to cover bob marley's "freedom song"  and "who could it beeeeeeeeeee now, knockin on the rastaman's door". the next tune that had the audience really rocking was the hit "1away ticket'' and then the ubiquitous, "it's me again jah".  he went into a speech that talked about how, "some people don't believe there's a g-d-they behave like animals... in the end they have no satisfaction." so true... then he speeded up the tempo with tunes like "lord give me strength" and "we're all in this together".  at 11:22 he was still going strong and showcased instrumental solos featuring his bongo player, bass and the singers. 11:30 and another fast set featuring "say what" and a duo w/mikey general ended the show at 11:44. the crowd, thick by now, felt satisfied by the nearly 3 hour show.  it was well worth the money and one of the best shows of the year.