Last night Anna and I went to an outdoor concert here on Guam. Even though Guam has the population of a small to medium sized city in the mainland U.S.A. (160,000), there are a number of big name bands that come through. This is mostly thanks for the military’s support functions to sponsor their appearances. This was true yesterday as well. The Navy MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation) brought in a band called Soldier’s of Jah’s Army (or SOJA for short). They are a reggae band from the East Coast. You may wonder who Jah is, well, it’s the name commonly used for God in the religious Rastafari movement. I think they use marijuana for their medium to commune with Jah … at least that’s how it sounded last night. Certainly an interesting experience watching this concert.
Also, reggae music is the theme of the island. Every week when there are large fiestas (parties), the music playing is reggae. So, it was, if nothing else, apropos for the island of Guam.
Guam is a finicky place. It goes from seemingly cool and torrential downpours to oven hot in a matter of minutes. These umbrellas in the crowd were used for both rain and sun. It was HOT!
Here are some pictures to show you what I am talking about:
Here is one of the opening acts, a couple local radio personalities. Not my sense of humor but many people here find them amusing.
Here’s Anna and I sweltering in the heat and trying to find relief under the umbrella.
Our friend John:
Carrie and Christy:
Hmmm … yes, here’s a person who has an interesting mix of religion, family and drugs.
These guys are representative of the audience at large:
The MWR folks were giving away T shirts with this pneumatic launcher:
The Caribbean Jerk Chicken and his girlfriend were out as well.
Finally, as the sun was setting and things cooled off, SOJA came out to perform.
That concluded the concert. The music is pretty good, but we (our group at least) decided that the reggae music doesn’t translate well to a large concert. It’s good on the radio, or in small settings, but doesn’t have a lot of energy to sustain a large concert. It was an enjoyable concert nonetheless.
Feelin ayrie…
–Jim
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