Couleur Café 2014, day 3: Protoje joined the vibe

Ky-Mani Marley got to kick off the festivities on Sunday. Last year, we saw Marley perform a great show at Garance, but we didn't get a repeat of that at Couleur Café. 'New Heights' was an excellent start, though. A tribute to our favourite plant in a lovely roots jacket and very easy to sing along to. The same goes for 'Hustler', a song from the 2007 album 'Radio'. However, on covering his dad's 'Concrete Jungle', things went somewhat wrong. The first choruses were off key and even completely off beat. Thankfully, Ky-Mani Marley, aided by his band, managed to put it right, but also the next song, 'Warriors', didn't sound like it should have. In any case, not a very memorable show, but then the day had only just started.
 
We were very much on time in the Univers tent for Protoje & The Indignation. Later this summer, Protoje will also be at Reggae Geel and what we saw at Couleur Café is very reassuring. Wearing his keffiyeh and to the tunes of 'Hail Ras Tafari', the 33-year-old Jamaican took the stage with more confidence than ever, backed by a solid band and two female singers. What ensued was an hour of fresh roots, often spun out with heavy dubs. 'I&I' managed to impress with a quick flow and 'Who Dem A Program' had the packed tent go wild for the first time. A more intimate 'Rasta Love' quietened things down for a while, but we didn't expect it to be performed without Ky-Mani Marley, who had just left the main stage. Fortunately, The Indignation's guitarist imitated Ky-Mani's voice effortlessly. 'Who Knows', a track from the forthcoming album, and 'Kingston Be Wise', including a chorus of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' were the last songs of a strong performance by an artist we expect a lot more from. Since it was remarkably calm (many people had probably been scared off by the imminent train strike and the bad weather of the past few days), we had plenty of time before the next performance to make our choice between all the lovely dishes in the dining area. As soon as we were back outside, The Solar System kicked off with the well-known intro 'Psaume 23' and Alpha Blondy got to open for the umpteenth time in his career with 'Jerusalem'. Also the rest of the set was hardly different from the last time we saw Alpha Blondy. Extremely solid band, inviting vocals, but Alpha Blondy hasn't really surprised for quite a while.

DON'T TAKE MY FUNK AWAY

We were much more charmed by the bizarre, at times even chaotic party presented afterwards by Bootsy Collins and his Funk Unity band. Barely respecting the proposed time schedule, Bootsy and his band threw a funky party, bringing  the keytar back to life and playing an infinite number of crowd games. He was having a blast and then, after the third outfit change, he revealed his Belgian football shirt. Highlights? 'Don't Take My Funk Away', dedicated to the recently deceased Bobby Womack, 'I Rather Be With You', including a long bass solo, and the steaming 'Flash Light'. "Funk is making something out of nothing", Collins shouted again and again, whilst never losing his beaming smile. We will never forget it, Bootsy!

Unfortunately we didn't get to see Danakil, the last reggae act of the night, because on the main stage, the gentlemen of Jurassic 5 decided to perform one of the better hip hop gigs we have seen in a long while. Nothing complicated, funny, understandable, and at least as good as on record. Things we don't often associate with the genre. Jurassic 5 has two great DJs to rely on (Nu-Mark & Cut Chemist), the typical flow of Chali 2na and hits such as 'Concrete Schoolyard', 'What's Golden', 'Jayou' and 'Freedom'. The crowd loved it and sent the last sparks of energy towards the stage, nodding their heads and throwing clenched fists in the air. Throughout the years, we've seen Couleur Café change, in programming as well as in the lay-out of the grounds, but it is a festival we always gladly return to. Let's just hope that next year it'll be under a radiant sun.