Red Red Wine

September 17, 2019

UB40

UB40 

Kathy

Shaggy

Red Red Wine

Kathy and I made another road trip this week in our continued pursuit of trying to see as many popular bands from the 80s and 90s as possible, this time driving up to Boca Raton for a day trip to see a show by UB40 featuring original singers Ali Campbell and Astro, with opening acts Shaggy and the Green. This was the 40^th anniversary tour of UB40 and was a show that Kathy really wanted to see.

 

UB40

Shaggy

The drive to Boca is a little bit longer than the typical drive to Miami or Lauderdale that we make to attend many concerts, but it is still pretty easy and this trip was totally trouble free. Mizner Park Amphitheater is a small, intimate outdoor facility in the heart of downtown Boca Raton and the area around there is packed full of bars, restaurants and cool shopping opportunities.

UB40

We arrived in time to grab dinner at a nearby restaurant, Dubliners, an Irish pub that was packed with pre-concert attendees and had a very loud cover band playing. The food was pretty decent but the ease of getting in and out was the best part. The entire area is surrounded by free parking garages making it easy and affordable to come downtown. 

The Green

After dinner we meandered down the street to the Yard House, a chain craft beer bar for another quick drink before walking over to the amphitheater just in time for the opening act, The Green to get started. Knowing how much Kathy was looking forward to this show, I had purchased tickets in the second row center. The place looked to be sold out, but there are not that many seats really available as it is a small and intimate venue.

 

The Green opened the show with a short but solid set of reggae tunes. I was not familiar with them at all, but thought they were quite good and the crowd that was on hand seemed to really enjoy their set as well. I am going to have to look a bit deeper into their music as we both liked what we heard a lot.

Shaggy 

Shaggy was up next and having not seen him perform and really only knowing a few of his most popular songs, I must admit that I was really unprepared for how amazingly awesome his portion of the show was. The Jamaican sensation was as good an opening act as I have seen in ages and if truth be told was way better than the very good headlining act UB40. His show was energetic, buoyant and just plain fun.

Shaggy 

His best known song, “It Wasn’t Me” was one of my least favorites, but even that was pretty damn good when performed live. The seven time Grammy nominated Shaggy was just fantastic and he had a charisma, energy and enthusiasm for performing that was contagious as the crowd was going wild, standing cheering and dancing through his entire set.

Shaggy

His set was so good that I was a little worried on UB40s behalf, especially when they started off a little slow, especially in comparison to the ultra-high energy of Shaggy’s performance. But they did settle in and put on a damn fine show of their own, working the energy level upwards throughout the show which just kept getting better and better as it progressed. They played all their hits from their illustrious 40 year career including all those chart toppers from the early 90s when they reached the height of their popularity, especially here in the US.

The British reggae band has been through some internal strife and various incarnations in the recent past, but these were the original voices behind all those beloved hits and they put on a really excellent show that again had the crowd revved up dancing and singing along. I am so glad that we went and really happy that all three acts put on stellar performances.

 

Key West Cares

September 16, 2019

Billy Currinton

Coffee Butler 

Rob Benton

Robert Albury

Key West Cares

Key West is one of the most generous, giving and loving communities that I have ever encountered. So many worthwhile charities and organizations are supported by the tremendous generosity of the residents here. So when our sister city, Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos, Bahamas took a direct hot and was totally devastated by the recent Hurricane Dorian, it is small surprise that a group of concerned Key West citizens took it upon themselves to organize and assist in any way possible.

Larry Smith

 

Billy Currington

Tons and tons of relief supplies and a huge amount of cash have already been raised, though all that has barely scratched the surface of what is needed and the efforts are continuing. As is the Key West way as well, the best way to raise funds here is to throw a party, so the organization organized a pair of concerts on the same evening this past Saturday evening to raise funds and awareness of the Bahamas plight.

Billy Currington

Country Music star Billy Currington joined a group of Key West musicians at the Key West Theater for an amazing night of musical entertainment before heading over to Sunset Pier to headline a second concert the same evening. Currington has a house in the Bahamas and filmed a recent music video in Green Turtle so he has a direct connection to the islands that were impacted and was happy to raise funds to help out by performing at both shows.

Clayton Lopez 

Ben Harrison

I attended the show at the Key West Theater that opened with Currington playing a selection of his more than dozen number one country hits before giving the stage over to a local all-star cast of local musicians who were on hand to help the cause out. The local performers included a who’s who of local talent including, Joe Tripp, Rob Benton, Ben Harrison, Nick Norman, the Bubba System, Larry Baeder, Cliff Sawyer, Clayton Lopez, Larry Smith, Robert Albury, Mina Lopez-Martin and the legendary Coffee Butler.

Robert Albury 

Cliff Sawyer

The packed show was an easy sell-out and was really terrific fun. I was especially impressed by the talented Rob Benton with K-Rush and his son Sheldon. I was not familiar with any of them and they were remarkably good and entertaining a meld of country-rock and rap. I can not wait to get out and see these guys play around town again.

Rob Benton, K-Rush and Sheldon

The all-star jam that filled most of the evening was fun too and getting to see both Cliff Sawyer and Coffee Butler perform is always something special. As they are both advancing in years, seeing them perform is getting to be a rarer and rarer treat and they both still have it and were really excellent. Robert Albury is always a treat as well, his deep baritone voice always sounds good whether he is singing riding his bike around town or dominating the stage at the Key West Theater.

 

Larry Baeder

As amazing as the show was, the cause is even greater and the group Key West Cares had a good night. They have already delivered on their own over 20 tons of good and supplies to the storm ravaged Bahamas, using an old prop DC-3 plane that makes direct flights from Key West to deliver the much needed supplie. The funds raised by the concerts and the massive silent auction that was available during the show will help, but more help is needed and it is going to be a long, long recovery process. If you can help, check out the link below as supplies, money and volunteers are still needed and will be for the foreseeable future.

Craig Cates

Rob Benton

Nick Norman

https://www.facebook.com/groups/Keywestcares