Midnite brings its reggae show
to WOW Hall to honor Marley
The St. Croix-based band
Midnite will play Friday
as part of a celebration
of Bob Marley’s birthday
By Natasha Chilingerian
Pulse Reporter
Friday is Bob Marie/s birthday, and
WOW Hall will celebrate the life and
music of the legendary reggae artist
with a show featuring Midnite, a quar
tet from St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Is
lands.
Honoring Marley's birthday with a
reggae performance has been a WOW
Hall tradition for more than 10 years.
WOW Hall publicist Bob Fenessey
said he remembers when a Eugene
resident first asked WOW Hall to host
a show for fans of Marley and reggae.
"When a community member sug
gested that we have an annual show
for reggae fans, they added, 'It would
n't matter which reggae band you
had!"'he said.
Fenessey said since Midnite is an
internationally-touring band, the
show should be more exciting than
past concerts. The performance
opener will be Santa Cruz, Calif.
based DJ Swami 1 spinning Marley's
tunes. Midnite will follow with a set
of original material.
Midnite's members — lead vocalist
Vaughn Benjamin, keyboardist Ron
Benjamin, drummer Dion Hopkins
and bassist Phillip Merchant —
formed their group in 1989 and have
been touring the United States ever
since, releasing 10 albums along the
way. Independent publicist Mike Kel
ly, who currently represents the band,
said Midnite offers surprises and a
new distinguished style while older
Jamaican reggae artists fail to vary
their music.
"They are highly enlightened," Kel
ly said. "They strip down reggae to its
bare roots and play unique rhythms.
It's like reggae music from the 1970s
with a fresh take."
He said a handful of Midnite's
Courtesy
Lead vocalist Vaughn Benjamin will
perform with reggae group Midnite
tomorrow night at WOW Hall.
lyrics speak of Rastafarianism, a reli
gion among black Jamaicans that
teaches the redemption of blacks and
their return to Africa.
"Many reggae artists identify with
(Rastafarianism); most reggae is a tes
tament to the religion," he said.
Swami 1 said Midnite helps reggae
music to branch outside of its most
commonly known Jamaican roots.
"They make it a world music
genre," he said. "It's not just one is
land and one sound. They bring reg
gae to a human level, and their lyrics
involve issues of the 21 st century."
Swami I's interest in the group was
sparked around four years ago when
he heard one of the band's CD at a
reggae festival. He met the band two
years ago at a Sierra Nevada World
Music Festival, where he "liked their
sincerity in person."
"The depth of their sound together
told me to seek them out," he said.
AJthough the group will not be
playing Marley covers, both Kelly and
Swami I said the memory of Marley
will be the driving force of Friday
night's performance. Swami I said that
he looks up to Marley spiritually, and
Midnite has the potential to live up to
his memory.
"The way I was raised, we called
him Saint Marley," he said. "He sent a
message of unity for all people across
the world on the small platform of
reggae. Midnite, if any band, could
hold such a candle to him. They have
the sincerity and spirit to carry their
reggae to a much higher place."
Courtesy
Midnite, from the U.S. Virgin Islands, will
participate in WOW Hall’s annual
celebration of Bob Marley’s birthday.
WOW Hall is located at 291 W.
Eighth Ave. Tickets are $ 17 in advance
at the WOW Hall Box Office and $20
at the door. The show begins at 8 p.m.
Contact the Pulse reporter at
natashachilingerian@dailyemerald.com.
CHILINGERIAN
continued from page 6
drop in their glass of water to give it
some color. In a few years, they gradu
ate to a full glass of wine. Most impor
tantly, there are no pushy waiters who
imply to teens and 20-year-olds that
having a nice glass of rose is a crime.
It isn't just the ban on wine that
bugs me. By prohibiting all alcoholic
drinks to minors in this country, the
beverages become a forbidden fruit,
making them all the more desirable.
And when curious minors get their
hands on it, they go wild. In a coun
try like France or Italy, where alcohol
is readily available to all, it doesn't
seem that exciting anymore. Fewer
young people partake in binge-drinking
fiascoes over there, because what's the
fun in downing a legal substance?
Minors may also be less inclined to
abuse alcohol in Europe because they
associate drinking with Mom and
Pop. Wine is introduced in the safe
environment of the home, while in
the United States, alcohol is normal
ly first experienced in a rowdy resi
dence hall — a place much more con
ducive to misbehaving. And at 12
a.m. on most Americans' 21st birth
days, it's off to the bar to get sloshed
and finally be welcomed into the
merchant's world of alcohol. It creates
a perfect ritualistic opportunity to go
buck wild, whereas across the At
lantic, one night of drinking wouldn't
matter from the next.
I'm smart enough to know this law
won't change anytime soon, but it
would be a miracle if this country re
alized someday that suppression
leads to desire — that wine tasting
does no more damage at age 20 than
it does at 21. It would be nice even if
waiters would show a little more re
spect. Like the server at The Olive
Garden who demonstrated to a
friend and me two years ago when
he allowed us, as minors, to have a
complimentary drop of wine with
our desserts. I sure became an Olive
Garden fan after that!
I've got 12 weeks until my 21st, but
in the meantime I'm going to visit
Canada, where I can have my last
dose of enjoying the respect that I lack
at home. And I plan to hit the bar on
my 21st for an unhealthy night of
drunkenness that had I been living in
France, I would do without. But why
not? It's a ritual.
Contact the Pulse reporter at
natashachilingerian@dailyemerald.com.
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