Steel Pulse 6/06/2003

One of Bob Marley’s most prophetic lines was, "one good thing about music is you feel no pain." Britain’s Steel Pulse communicates the ideals of Marley and freedom of reggae music, delivering forth positive vibrations (for lack of a better word) for their audiences.

For the past 25 years, Steel Pulse has internationally dedicated their sound to fighting injustice and environmental dangers over their fine tuned reggae sound. Pulse's performances serve as a spiritual uplifting and hand the satisfaction of knowing what you're going to get – high-energy reggae that have your arms swaying and knees bouncing.

Like their contemporaries Black Uhuru, Burning Spear, Toots &The Maytalls and Lee Perry; Steel Pulse, led by founder David Hinds on vocals and guitar, along with keyboardist Selwyn Brown and drummer Steve Nisbett, continue to tour heavily, while releasing new music that sparks the same joyous respons that their old favorites elicit. Although the line-up has changed through the years, this seven piece version of Steel Pulse echoed a familiar sound for the crowd at Higher Ground.

From the onset, the audience was down and familiar with a majority of the material that Steel Pulse threw their way. From the poignant crowd favorite "Roller Skates" the proclaimed a "life without music," clearly in reference to the music industry taking hold of the first amendment and our creative thought. The band prevailed with the boisterous "Not King James Version," and the blissful "Your House." Mixing bits of dance hall, with extended instrumental solos, the band made every tune a distinct live dent.

The rallying theme for Rasta nationalists, "Worth His Weight In Gold" (Rally Round the Flag), was played amidst the hour and a half show, celebrated the waving of the red, gold, and green that proclaimed:

Rally round the flag

Rally round the red, gold, black and green…

Red for the blood that flowed like a river

Green for the land of Africa

Yellow for the gold that they stole

Black for the people that they looted from

Although it was no surprise that the Vermont crowd was ninety five percent white, Steel Pulse’s songs connected with the crowd at another level beyond language and creed. Maybe, there is just something that makes the island flavored beats of reggae something so idealistically positive and fitting during the long hot summer.

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