Photos above and below:
Burning Spear live @ Toad's Place New Haven, CT
August 3, 2000 - photos by Asher
Found at www.burningspear.net

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Click to Order Free Man from the
Burning Spear Official Web Site

Veteran soldier Burning Spear is without a doubt one of the hardest working brothers in the biz. In addition to his relentless touring schedule, he produces a new top-quality studio project every year or so. His career, which spans more than a quarter decade, has produced XX albums and host of awards and honors too numerous to mention. When Spear comes to town, Reggae fans come out to see the man at work, knowing that he never disssapoints.

Appearing live at the Recher Theater in Towson, MD on Friday, October 10, in support of his Free Man album, the Spear kept his rep firmly intact. The Burning Band is routinely one of the tightest outfits ever assembled, and this night was no exception. Likewise, the Burning Brass were just that, lighting up the stage and perfectly punctuating Spear's solid arrangements with incendiary stylings.

Tripping through some of his classics, the Spear treated the massive to a flawless rendition of "Slavery Days," along with "Old Marcus Garvey", "Christopher Columbus", "Jordan River", and "Appontment with His Majesty", among many,many more. Delving into some tracks from the new album, "Not Guilty" and "Free Man," got the capacity crowd skankin' along and loving it. In his usual style, Mr. Rodney kept things flowing for well over an hour.

Spear was in fine form, looking and sounding fit. Lately fans have been speculationg the Spear's potential retirement from touring, but watching him work the crowd and command the stage, it's hard to imagine him ever stopping. The crowd and the vibe were beautiful, with the local community out in full force. It was truly a night to treasure as Spear gave his all and the massive returned it, filling the room with a tangible energy that lasted through the night and rejeuvenated me for the week to come. Give thanks, Reggae music is a blessing!

"Big Up!" goes out to Baltimore's own Stryker's Posse, who opened for the Spear. Regrettably, I missed their performance, but was told it was crucial (and knowing that bunch, I'm sure it's true! :-)

-Allie-I