Adams Avenue Street Fair 2024
By Charles Basil
©Copyright 2024 SDAM.com/Charlie Basil
NORMAL HEIGHTS – The sound check had an eerie vibration as the chanting keyboards
echoed down the empty corner of 34th and Adams. When the Revelations took the
stage, that vacant concrete space was quickly occupied as lead singer Elijah Emanuel
filled the air with a spine-tingling homage to the Lion of Judah.The greasy food, the candles, the t-shirts, the once-in-a-lifetime deal on a new kitchen sink suddenly vanished from the Adams Avenue Street Faire. This little corner became the universe. The Revelations commanded it. Bouncing in the corner was a green, red and yellow headband holding back a mess of dreadlocks on the head of a man who seemed to be melting with joy under the scorch of the afternoon sun, singing proudly every word. Held high in his hand were Revelations CDs for sale. When Emanuel would stop playing his guitar and put his hand out in a fist, or twinkle his fingers in a Michael Jackson-esque call to self, the people would listen. And to them he delivered an urgent come-to-consciousness gospel of resistance. Bassist John Allen closed his eyes and swayed behind his heavy, patient beats. Drummer AB Nevarez sang along, into his microphone or otherwise. The man clad in a floppy hat and full beard behind the keyboards was a spitting image of Chong, as in Cheech and... You could almost here him saying, "I ain't never smoked no shit like that before, man!" Lead guitarist Arturo Hernandez stood expressionless, cutting out thick r&b licks. All men working hard for Jah. The Revelations capture the spirit of Jamaican uprising reggae and spin it into the So-Cal psyche. This truly American reggae band beats down the walls of Babylon from its very premises. It seemed many in attendance were prepared to quit their jobs on Monday and go vegetarian. Some in the audience sat along the fence drinking cold beers from their coolers, a few young hippies danced and groped in an acid-induced frenzy, some hopped and bounced, some twirled and bent, some skanked, while others stood perfectly still. The vibe was right, the people were good and the Revelations blew the top off it. |