Ky-mani Marley and Joseph Israel: Stir Up the House of Blues on Sunset Strip
Review and Photos by Jan Salzman
August 18, 2008 – Los Angeles, CA – Joseph Israel started the night’s live performances with an acoustic set, his mission he said, “To bring joy to the House of Blues.” One of my favorite Joseph Israel songs is “Jah Kingdom” from his CD Gone Are the Days. He truly did warm up the crowd with a positive vibe.
Ky-mani Marley then blasted onstage to “I’m Back.” In fact, he began with three songs straight from his latest CD Radio, including “The March,” and my favorite, the very sexy “Slow Roll.” Truly one of the hardest-working and fastest-moving performers, Ky-mani is consistently dashing all over the stage. Sometimes he brought out the microphone stand, getting all wound up, grabbing the mic, then putting the stand behind him again. Most of the time Ky-mani had the mic in his hand, bending towards the audience and gesturing to the crowd. I noted that he makes this curvy gesture when he sings about women. It is as if he is caressing the women in the audience, especially with the lure of his sleepy, sexy eyes. He was truly enjoying playing at the Los Angeles House of Blues for the first time.
He performed several popular songs from his famous father, including a fabulous rendition of “No Woman No Cry.” His voice is very fitting of this song. With the uncanny similarity to his famous dad, I had a flashback to the vibe of that Bob Marley delivered during this song.
Ky-mani performed one new song called “Armed and Dangerous,” which you can hear and download from his myspace page. He closed the night with Bob Marley’s “One Love, ” which of course, had the whole packed room singing with him.
I got a chance to meet with Ky-mani for a few moments after the show. I gave him a few photos and he gave me a big hug. Thanks to his road manager Josh aka “Whiteboy,” who took great care of me. He even remembered my name. Impressive! The night was filled talented people and great performances. I drove home listening to Ky-mani’s CD to recreate the wonderful vibe of the evening.