Toots at the Tent
Toots Hibbert doesn’t take any time to build the pace when he hits the stage. The reggae legend ripped right into his best-known song, “Pressure Drop,” when Toots & the Maytals performed on June 5 at the Cape Cod Melody Tent.
“Pressure Drop” appeared on the 1972 soundtrack “The Harder They Come,” which introduced many American listeners to the Maytals. It provided an instant sing-along – “It is you-oo-oo, oh yeah-ah-ah” – at the Melody Tent.
The pace and energy rarely flagged for the rest of the 92-minute concert. The seats at the Melody Tent may have been the most underutilized chairs in town, as most people in the audience spent the entire show on their feet.
It was the last show of a U.S. tour, and Hibbert’s band showed all of the tight musicianship you’d expect from a stint on the road, but none of the nonchalance you might find on the last night. The highlight of the night was “Funky Kingston,” with its irresistible beat, one of the band’s most recognizable songs. The concert version is an extended jam, with most of the band members getting a turn to solo.
Hibbert’s thick Jamaican accent made the lyrics of the Kingsmen’s old garage-rock song “Louie Louie” even more indecipherable, but the message of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” got through. Whether you’re from Jamaica, Hyannis or anywhere else, a longing for home is a universal sentiment.
While Toots & the Maytals is one of the world’s most prominent reggae bands, it’s easy to overlook that there’s a strong funk flavor to the group’s sound. Hibbert, who is 64, even showed a few James Brown moves on “Country Roads.”
More highlights: “Reggae Got Soul,” “54-46 Was My Number,” “Sweet and Dandy” and the always fun “Monkey Man.” During a newer song, “Light Your Light,” Hibbert invited the audience to help illuminate the arena. There were far more cell phones than lighters swaying in the air. Times change.
Opening the show was the Martha’s Vineyard-based musical collective Entrain, which played a 40-minute set. Entrain kicked things off by having all seven members jamming on percussion instruments. From there the band played songs that drew on all kinds of rhythms, pulling from the music of Africa, Jamaica and New Orleans, along with some Bo Diddley beats.
The guys in Entrain are a versatile bunch. New member Kose Yamaguchi plays saxophone and clarinet. Keyboard player Tony Falcetti picked up the accordion on a couple of songs. Sam Holmstock played congas on most songs, but also played trombone and washboard.
After 17 years, it’s good to see Entrain is not just surviving, but thriving.
The audience was a mix of boomers and young adults, as well as some boomers who were there with their teenage or young adult children. There was also a guy dressed as a pirate (or maybe he really is a pirate).
Faces in the crowd: Todd and Beth Marcus, owners of Cape Cod Beer; Joe and Bev Dunn, owners of the Island Merchant restaurant in Hyannis (nice to see them having a night off), Hyannis artist Meaghann Kenney and Little Beach Gallery owner Jen Villa. And was that expert baseball commentator Peter Gammons?