Date: Saturday, October 8th, 2011
Line up: Ziggy Marley
Location: Ogden Theater. Denver, CO
A Night Out Featuring, Ziggy Marley…
I grew up to Bob Marley like many of us reggae lovers have, so when I was asked to attend the Ziggy Marley show at the legendary Ogden theater in Denver, Colorado, I did not hesitate. Not because this was my first Ziggy Marley show, but this was my first time seeing any of the Marley brothers live!
Upon entering the show I was greeted by a group of Rastafarian guys in which I exchanged the classic hi-five and we all shared our excitement for the night ahead. This simple act of human kindness furthered my over all view and opinion of reggae music and what it is all about. Love. They smiled and left me with a kind “Ja Bless”.
I shuffled my way to the front of the venue to the photo pit to meet with my friend and fellow Pier photographer Kit Chalberg to prepare for the night ahead. The lights dimmed and the sounds of a baby cry rang through the theater speakers. The baby cry sample made sense as Ziggy opened up the night with “Welcome To The World”. The crowd started cheering with excitement and so did I, even though this interesting sample caught me a little off guard.
“Welcome To The World” kicked the night off as Ziggy came to the front of the stage under the spotlight, swaying back and forth letting his natty dread locks bounce back and forth as if they were dancing by themselves. Awesome. I quickly became lost in the lyrics and the sight of the son of a legend. I could not help but notice the intense similarities between Ziggy and Bob Marley, not to mention their vocals sounding nearly identical with minimal variations.
“Beach In Hawaii” was one of my personal favorite songs of the night. It is a simple roots reggae song that sings about love and paradise with the desire to be with that special person. Ziggy’s backup vocalist was a beautiful woman that was hypnotizing and easy on the eyes as she danced the hula to this great song. After the song ended, Ziggy asked the crowed if we had reggae in our heads, in which he transitioned to the song aptly named “Reggae In My Head”.
Following “Reggae In My Head” I was able pin-point the name of the following song within three seconds as Ziggy ripped into “Stirr It Up”. The crowd went crazy with excitement and we all sang in unison to this timeless song.
The rest of the night brought songs from Ziggy’s new album “Wild and Free” with songs that included “Forward To Love”, “Tomorrow People”, “Got To Be True To Myself”, “Changes” and “Black Cat” filled the night with dancing body’s and enough smoke to well… You know.
Ziggy played yet another song from his fathers legendary collection of hits and probably one of the most popular reggae songs of all time “Is This Love”. Closing out this great night of Marley music was the song titled “Love Is My Religion”, a song which Ziggy Marley has won a Grammy for at the 49th annual Grammy Awards. The last song of the evening, Ziggy played “Look Who’s Dancing” and closed out an unforgettable night of reggae music.
Reggae music is love.
Ziggy Marley Setlist:
Welcome To The World
Be Free
Personal Revolution
Beach In Hawaii
Reggae In My Head
Stir It Up
Forward To Love
Tomorrow People
Got To Be True To Myself
Changes
Black Cat
Is This Love
Love Is My Religion
Look Who’s Dancing
– Article by: Chad Hillje
– Photos by: Kit Chalberg
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