Or something…
Lee Scratch Perry pretty much invented reggae, playing it before the name even existed. Today in New York York City’s Central Park he played a huge free concert at Summerstage along with Alpha Blondy. I’m sure it was, as are all Summerstages, a complete mad house. I don’t know because I wasn’t there. Instead here’s video footage of Lee Scratch Perry playing a secret show last night, along with Ari Up of the Slits, at the Yard, a great venue overlooking Gowanus Canal, where I may or may not have been.

Lee Scratch Perry with Dubblestandart and Ari Up | NYC @ BRKLYN YARD | 18 Jul 2009 from UN:ART:IG

Sometimes you just MUST love New York.

About the author

wendy in furs

I live and blog anonymously from New York. If my boss knew this was me, I'd be fired in a nano-second. Ha ha! Screw you boss man!

5 Comments

  • Perry pretty much invented dub, anyway. The Original Ape lives…

  • I was there. The artists started late since they were stuck in traffic. Alpha did not take the stage til perhaps 5PM. So many people were turned away, since the venue was filled to capacity and there wear easily as many people in line to get in than there were already in Rumsey Playfield. Alpha B. did “Jerusalem”… long extended version… and the audience was cheering.

  • LSP probably was a co-inventor of dub. At least three claims to that crown. As to why the coptic cross, well… lets just say he has his own special ologyism.

    Sure do wish I coulda been at this show, the new Dubblestandart CD is full of good chunes.

  • HIS BOOK IS A MUST!!! It not only fea tures Lee Scratch Perry but Augus tus Pablo and Junior Delgado.

    A book of pho tographs by Pogus Cae sar cel e brat ing Britain’s iconic black musi­cians is to be pub lished next month.

    The book fea tures evoca tive, nos tal gic and largely unpub lished images of musi cal leg ends like Ste­vie Won der, Grace Jones and Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry.

    “These images record a unique period in what would come to be called black British life,” remarks author and his to rian Paul Gilroy.

    “Pogus Caesar’s emphat i cally ana log art is rough and full of insight. He con veys the tran si tion between gen er a tions, men tal i ties and economies.”

    Leg endary reg gae artists fig ures promi nently, and appro pri ately, in the Cae sar image canon — Burn ing Spear, The Wail ers, Augus tus Pablo, Rita Mar ley, Mighty Dia monds, Black Uhuru, Sly Dun bar, Steel Pulse etc. The pho tog ra pher cites reg gae itself is a sig nif i cant influ ence, reflect ing his own St Kitts back ground in the East ern Caribbean.

    The launch of Muzika Kinda Sweet fol lows an exhi bi tion of the work at the Oom Gallery in Birm­ing ham ear lier this year.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/a.….&ino=3