A band of San Diego reggae musicians wearing knotty dreadlocks upon their heads permeated the concrete jungles of Los Angeles last Friday night, led by two brothers, Steven and Tony-Ray Jacobo.
The Wiltern Theater filled to the brim to watch the Tribal Seeds headline the show alongside opening acts Pacific Dub, Through The Roots and Fortunate Youth. Tribal Seeds’ Winter West Coast Tour stop in Los Angeles showcased the band’s ability to build upon its sound through the addition of keyboardist-producer E.N. Young and guitarist Ryan Gonzales.
Fans were energized early by the exciting, bongo-slamming performance of Fortunate Youth’s front man Dan Kelly, who projected his voice to two stories of dancing audience members before Tribal Seeds took the stage.
The six-piece band welcomed the crowd with a refreshing contrast of older tracks, such as “Love Psalm,” with a new untitled song that is a medium-paced tribute to the late Ethiopian king Haile Selassie with a down-walking bassline. As purple and orange flashes of light projected from the stage, lead vocalist Steven Jacobo chanted the new lyrics, wearing black sunglasses and bumping back and forth to the movement of the crowd.
Elevated toward the back of the stage, drummer Carlos Verdugo and bassist Victor Navarro established the rhythm on songs “In Your Eyes” and “Island Girl.” Verdugo integrated an electric drum pad into several songs and crashed his cymbals to Navarro’s basslines, staying true to his experimental drumming style. Keyboardist Tony-Ray Jacobo added several computer generated sounds to his repertoire, reflecting his recent nu reggae/dubstep solo project The Maad T- Ray.
The music picked up in pace as new member E.N. Young held up his melodica to the right of Steven Jacobo and harmonized vocals with him on “Rasta, Refuse It” from the band’s 2008 eponymous album. Young let his dreadlocks down almost to the ground and danced across the stage during a roots-reggae rendition of Blackstreet’s R&B song “No Diggity,” igniting the crowd into applause.
The addition of Gonzales, formerly of Fortunate Youth, and Young gave Tribal Seeds a more interactive presence on stage as Gonzales would call on the audience to get loud and play with fervent body language. Both provided back up vocals to Steven Jacobo’s lead, indicating the band’s growth in its ability to capture the vocal work of its recent EP, “SoundWaves,” live.
Steven Jacobo and Young harmonized on “Island Girl,” which developed into a swirling breakdown of vocals and drums over a well-executed guitar solo by Gonzales. Even though their last multitrack record was released back in 2011, the band kept its songs interesting by including dubbed-out vocals and electronic samples along with several added breakdowns.
A height in crowd excitement was sparked when Steven Jacobo took upon a more confrontational tone as he strummed his guitar to “Dawn of Time.” Next came another untitled song, in which he sang “It’s only the righteous and the meek that shall inherit livity.” Laser beams and bright white flashes lead the audience to the orchestral intro of “Dark Angel,” the band’s last song of the set.
Acknowledging the cheering crowd, the musicians removed their instruments and left the stage. After several minutes of “Tribal Seeds! Tribal Seeds!” chanting from the audience, band members reemerged on stage to perform “Vampire” along with vocalists from the opening acts.
The encore collaboration brought Young to the microphone for a few verses, during which he shot peace signs out toward the crowd. The energy on stage only built as the electronic intro to “Run the Show” drew listeners into a serious tone as Jacobo sang, “They really fear us, we don’t fear them.”
Tribal Seeds appeared comfortable headlining the show through their confident demeanor on stage. After opening for bands including Rebelution, Slightly Stoopid and The Expendables over the past five years, the group seemed well prepared to charge the headliner slot with full force.
Compiled by Max Mcgee, A&E contributor.