The Night Bob Pulled Me from the Brink

The simple truth is that we'd never heard of Bob Marley. That's how isolated we were both culturally and physically one freezing night my freshman year of college before time was invented in 1979. Mired in the depression of a transplanted Californian in upstate New York, I was desperate to escape from my demons and a school where apparently no one even dressed up for Halloween. I slouched myself down the hill to Reed Athletic Center to see whatever band, whatever shining star our radio music director, the late Andy Dean had managed to drag into Hamilton from New York. (In '78, we later learned, Andy had brought the Grateful Dead to Hamilton.)

Tickets were $10 from the girl at the cash box. No line. She looked at me sceptically. The show had started. It was was a gamble on a student budget. When she pushed the door, a cloud of marijuana and music drifting under the door turned into pure energy. My freshman gloom supernovaed.

The stage was jammed with musicians, costumes, singers, light, pot and --what was that Jamaican music? Even reggae sounded completely new. The room was only 2/3rd full - a mix of dreadlock fans who'd driven from New York and 1/2 with Colgate students who had wandered in from the gloom.

By the second song I was euphoric. I had inched as close to the stage as I dared (those rasta guys seemed huge), and as far away from Colgate as I'd ever been. A trip out of the grey and into the sun. You didn't need to light up a smoke to feel like a love parade. And those dancing Jamaican women...

When I finally made it back to my dorm room, a couple hall-mates wondered what had happened to me . We looked the band's name up in the paper - Bob Marley and the Wailers. "You'd never believe it!" I exclaimed. Some one said "Never heaerd of him."

All that had changed for me thanks to our student music director and Bob's willingness to take Survival on an improbably amazing road show. Rumor was that Andy lost his job for blowing the whole semester budget on one concert. Undoubtably a brilliant mood. Is it true the Doors had played Colgate in the 60's?

Marley Live Footage from Survival Tour "Positive Vibrations"

"Positive Vibrations" Clip from Survival Tour

One month after his Colgate appearance, Bob recorded his Survival Tour at the Santa Barbara County Bowl. This live concert appearance from Bob Marley and The Wailers was filmed on November 25, 1979. One of the last shows recorded before Marley's untimely passing, the gig is a scintillating mix of reggae classics and provides a fitting epitaph to the influential musician. Tracks include "I Shot the Sheriff," "Exodus," "Is This Love" and many more.


Al Anderson ... Himself - Lead Guitar
Aston Barrett ... Himself - Bass
Carlton Barrett ... Himself - Drums
Glen D'Acosta ... Himself - Saxophone
Tyrone Downie ... Himself - Keyboards
Devon Evans ... Himself - Congas
Earl Lindo ... Himself - Keyboards (as Earl 'Wire' Lindo)
David Madden ... Himself - Trumpet (as Dave Madden)
Bob Marley ... Himself - Vocals / Rhythm Guitar
Rita Marley ... Herself - The I-Threes
Junior Marvin ... Lead Guitar
Judy Mowatt ... Herself - The I-Threes
Alvin Patterson ... Himself - Percussion (as Alvin 'Seeco' Patterson)


http://www.amazon.com/Legend-Live-Bob-Marley-Wailers/dp/B0000CDL9M

Marley weaving his magic

In retrospect, as a child I lived a relatively sheltered life, particularly in regards to race in America. Growing up on Long Island in the sixties and seventies, I may or may not have grown up in a Sundowner town. Ultimately, there was a certain level of economic discrimination in my hometown that makes the true label irrelevant. To put it bluntly, the cafeteria in my High School had a black table...for those unfamiliar, it's the table that the handful of the black kids that attended my high school of 2300 students sat at. Needless to say, I was a bit naive, believe me, my taste in music being the least of my ignorance. However, even I knew Bob Marley. I'd visited Jamaica the summer after graduation from high school (I thing that would be 1977). My parents took us on one last family trip. What a trip it was. Beautiful Island scenery, exotic smells, and also grinding poverty. But also the amazing beauty of a distinct culture separate from the USA, in language, beliefs and music. And the nagging suspicion that the rest of the world, just might be different then America. The door was cracked a little.

I saw my first Rasta on the beach; big, black, barechested, dreads blowing in the breeze. An amazing sight. And the music, similar to American rythems, but slightly different in vibe and philosophy. Melodic and listenable, but slightly edgy. Attractive but grounded in dark deep currents. Like a sweet smelling orchid growing in a tropical rain forest.

So yes, imagine my shock when I found out that Bob Marley was coming to Colgate. At the time, Colgate was not unlike my high school. Insular, affluent and very white. So this was cutting edge stuff. It was rumored that Andy Dean, head of the social committee, had spent his whole budget on the concert. If he did, more power to him!

And what a concert experience it was. Set up in the small venue of a gym, a monster band,the exotic and distictive smells of Reggae wafting through the air. Marley weaving his magic, half musician, half wizard. Totally engaged and yet removed from the fray. An enlightened sage, engaged in the world, but above it all!...man, by the end of the night I was so high, and not only from the herb, although that was killer too (Don't forget we were just barely out of the Seventies). But it was the promise of the potential that really brought it to the ultimate level. The idea that here was a great artist, using his personal idiom to reach the universal. The universal of love, connection, engagement. The sense that no matter our differences we are all the same. We are all connected, Marley's journey was our journey. Time and distance do not matter. It is the same now, as it was then. And it is the same now as it will be 200 years from now! The world's joy is our joy, just as the world's pain is our pain. We need to love the world as we love ourselves

Tony DeAngelis (Class of 1982)

30th Anniversary Bob Marley T-shirts at Colgate

Yes they are still available - an official Bob Marley shirt marking his Survival Tour gig on Halloween at Colgate in 1979. They are two sided with concert date, time and place on back (see top of blog for images). M/L/XL only via chris@papercutfilms.com for $25 plus $5 shipping (paypal/US order only) while they last.

Sophomore Goes Bowling on Marley Night

A Near Perfect Game:

As a sophomore who wasn't a pot smoker and who didn't care for much of the music that my pot smoking friends enjoyed, I had no interest in the Bob Marley Concert of Hallowe'en 1979.

However, I did go down to Reed Athletic Center for my Wednesday night bowling gym class, and found the bowling alley closed. Walking through the lobby, I saw a friend from my freshman dorm working the door. He waved me over, and let me in, gratis.

So there I was, I felt, in a room full of ecstatic, writhing pot smokers. Yay. Stayed for a song or two. Went home. Go figure.

What a fun project! Would love to see some artifacts show up. Does anyone have flyers? What do the Campus and regional newspapers have? Interesting that the Colgate show is one of the only ones from the tour that does not have a extant recording mentioned on the interwebs.

- Randy Hoppe Class of 1982

Marley's Set at Colgate Oct 31 '79

At the beginning of the tour which started with seven shows at the Apollo Theater in New York City and then moving to Colgate, Marley varied the setlists much more than later on the tour. Most shows had a standard setlist which closes with "Exodus", and an encore set which usually ended with "Get Up, Stand Up". From show to show sometimes an additional song was edged in the middle or attached at the end of the setlist, like "Ride Natty Ride", "Natty Dread", "Lively Up Yourself", "Roots, Rock, Reggae", "Zimbabwe", "Stir It Up", "Kinky Reggae", "So Much Trouble In The World", "Burnin' And Lootin'", "Natural Mystic", "So Much Things To Say", "Rat Race", "Rebel Music" and "Survival". Live performances of each of these songs happened very rarely during the tour.

Setlist

"Positive Vibration"
"Wake Up And Live"
"Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)"
"Concrete Jungle"
"I Shot The Sheriff"
"Running Away" / "Crazy Baldhead" (medley)
"Ambush In The Night"
"The Heathen"
"War" / "No More Trouble"
"Africa Unite"
"One Drop"
"Exodus"
"No Woman, No Cry"
"Jammin'"
"Is This Love?"
"Get Up, Stand Up"

(from Wikipedia)

Bob's Surival Tour City List

1979 - Survival Tour

Unknown - Union, Jamaica
April 05 - Shinjuku Kouseinenkin Hall, Tokyo, Japan
April 06 - Shinjuku Kouseinenkin Hall, Tokyo, Japan
April 07 - Shibuya Public Hall, Tokyo, Japan - Early Show
April 07 - Shibuya Public Hall, Tokyo, Japan - Late Show
April 10 - Nakano Sun Plaza Hall, Tokyo, Japan - Early Show
April 10 - Nakano Sun Plaza Hall, Tokyo, Japan - Late Show
April 11 - Kosei Nenkin Main Hall, Osaka, Japan
April 13 - Festival Hall, Osaka, Japan
April 16 - Westeren Springs, Auckland, New Zealand
April 18 - Festival Hall, Brisbane, Australia
April 20 - Apollo Stadium, Adelaide, Australia
April 21 - Apollo Stadium, Adelaide, Australia
April 23 - Entertainment Centre, Perth, Australia
April 25 - Festival Hall, Melbourne, Australia
April 26 - Festival Hall, Melbourne, Australia
April 27 - Hoerdern Pavillion, Sydney, Australia
May 01 - Festival Hall, Melbourne, Australia
May 05 - Lahaini Civic Center, Maui, Hawaii
May 06 - Waikiki Shell, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii
July 07 - Reggae Sunsplash II, Jarrett Park - Montego Bay, Jamaica
July 21 - Amandla Festival, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
September 24 - National Hereos Arena, Kingston, Jamaica
October ?? - Boston, Massachusetts, USA
October ?? - Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, USA
October 25 - Apollo Theater, Harlem, New York, USA (Early Show)
October 25 - Apollo Theater, Harlem, New York, USA (Late Show)
October 26 - Apollo Theater, Harlem, New York, USA (Early Show)
October 26 - Apollo Theater, Harlem, New York, USA (Late Show)
October 27 - Apollo Theater, Harlem, New York, USA (Early Show)
October 27 - Apollo Theater, Harlem, New York, USA (Late Show)
October 28 - Apollo Theater, Harlem, New York, USA
October 31 - Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, USA
November 01 - Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Canada
November 02 - The Forum - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
November 03 - Civic Centre, Ottawa, Canada
November 04 - Memorial Hall, Burlington, VT, USA (Early Show)
November 04 - Memorial Hall, Burlington, VT, USA (Late Show)
November 07 - Black Music Association, Penn Hall, Philadelphia, PA, USA
November 10 - Detroit, Michigan, USA
November 11 - Dane County Coliseum, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
November 12 - The Auditorium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
November 13 - Uptown Theater, Chicago, Illinois, USA
November 14 - Uptown Theater, Chicago, Illinois, USA
November 15 - Northrup Auditorium, Minneapolis, Minnesota,USA
November 17 - Kinsmen Friedhouse, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
November 19 - Paramount Theatre, Portland, Oregon, USA
November 20 - Paramount Theatre, Seattle, Washington, USA (Early Show)
November 20 - Paramount Theatre, Seattle, Washington, USA (Late Show)
November 21 - The Colliseum, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
November 23 - UCLA, Pauley Pavillion, Los Angeles, California, USA
November 24 - San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, California, USA
November 25 - County Bowl, Santa Barbara, California, USA
November 27 - Sugar Ray Robinson Foudation Benefit, Roxy Theater, LA,USA
November 30 - Oakland Colliseum, Oakland, California, USA
December 01 - Freeborn Hall on UC Davis Campus, Sacramento, CA, USA
December 02 - The Civic Auditorium, Santa Cruz, CA, USA (Early Show)
December 02 - The Civic Auditorium, Santa Cruz, CA, USA (Late Show)
December 05 - Denver University Arena, Denver, Colorado, USA
December 06 - Hoch Auditorium, The University of Kansas, Lawrence,Kansas, USA
December 07 - Dallas, Texas, USA
December 08 - PSA, Trinidad, West Indies
December 09 - Trinidad, West Indies
December 1? - Vanderbilt, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
December 1? - New Orleans, LA, USA
December 12 - Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA, USA
December 13 - Jai Alai Fronton, Tampa, Florida, USA
December 15 - Queen Elizabeth Sports Center, Nassau, Bahamas

Another clip from the Survival Tour (Santa Barbara)