| The Wonders of Life |
|
|
| Written by Mark Rifkin, twi-ny.com | |
|
Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars and Guinea’s Dry-Yai Bring Their Music to New York City – and the Rest of the World Exclusive photos: flickr.com/photos/twi-ny/sets/72157601634456221  Reuben M. Koroma leads the All Stars in hot show  Idrissa “Malamâ€? Bangura can’t stop smiling at B.B. King's Blues Club  Dry-Yai will be at Joe’s Pub on August 29 On August 22nd, they brought their remarkable story to Times Square, where they took the stage at B.B. King’s, rocking the house for two hours of politically tinged music about peace and love, war and poverty, violence and freedom. Despite what they’ve been through, they’re not bitter. They might have been forced away from home for far too long, but they promise to “forgive and forget” on “Big Lesson,” going back to “get some love.” And there was plenty of love to be had this night. The All Stars are led by songwriter and lead vocalist Reuben M. Koroma, who introduces many of the songs with tales of the refugee camps and his home country, Sierra Leone; at one point he also urged the audience to help those suffering in Darfur. On several numbers Koroma switched places with Black Nature; while Black Nature rapped to the crowd, Koroma hit the congas. The set featured about half of "Living Like A Refugee," including “Weapon Conflict,” “Big Lesson,” “Soda Soap,” and the title track, with dreadlocked Ashade Pearce playing sweet guitar, Efua Grace shaking her maracas and adding background vocals, and Idrissa “Malam” Bangura, wearing a huge smile the entire night, at times playing his bass on top of his head, his sheer joy infectious. Near the end of the set, they were joined for two songs by Dry-Yai’s Pupa Bajah and the Baw-Waw Society , who had opened the show with such tunes as “I Love This Lady” and the new “Ease Di Tension,” which deals with this month’s elections in Guinea. Together they really got their groove on jamming on Dry-Yai’s “Angel.” The All Stars’ music combines a West African beat with reggae-like melodies that make you want to get up and dance, and that’s exactly what happened as they closed out the night, with people shaking their stuff all over B.B. King’s. Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars will next be appearing at the September 6th Save the Children 75th Anniversary concert at Lincoln Center; Dry-Yai will be playing Joe’s Pub on Wednesday night, August 29th, along with DJ Spooky and DJ Reborn.
|
