Now easily considered one of our campus favorites, the notorious reggae-roots band, The Uplifters, performed at Brandeis for the third time on April 10 at the Stein. The event was sponsored by none other than the Caribbean Connexion, and both the fanatic and the curious all gathered to see what kind of spell this reggae band would cast on the still-wintry Massachusetts night.For those of you who haven't had the opportunity to acquaint yourselves with this New York City-bred sextet, the members are: David Linhart (vocals/guitar), Pete Hur (guitar), Jon Siegel (bass), Nick Mendoza (kit drums), Jan Christiansen (congas) and James Curwood (saxaphone). Unfortunately, Curwood was sick and could not come to grace us with his sax skills. This undoubtedly affected their signature sound, but the band nonetheless managed to hold itself up. Without Curwood's jazzy, breezy sax-blowing, The Uplifters that night sounded slightly aggressive and coarse, adding more intensity to their usually-smoother music.

Starting from their debut with "Look Out Now," The Uplifters have bravely revolted against the commodified reggae genre. While contemporary reggae artists have done nothing but imitate the Marley groove or use familiar samples and catchy dance beats, this band insists on keeping it authentic and "irie." Most of the songs that they performed this time were extracted from their second album, "Burning Bush."

What is unique about The Uplifters compared to other reggae bands is their blending of island rhythm and sound with a tough urban philosophy. The contrast of Jan's conga percussion, Pete Hur's guitar embodies this tension. The audience responded positively to their brilliant fusion of reggae, rock and soul music and got up on their feet to "skank."

Dave's lyrics recapture the social consciousness that used to be characteristic of Trench Town reggae but voice social and political concerns that are relevant to us today. The lyrics of one of the songs they performed, called "Hierarchy," say: "Realize that them have reservation 'bout lifting up the next generation/ Them confuse us with loaded suggestion and we respond with all the wrong question/ See if them was to uplift the masses who would fill in for the low and lower classes / See to be a top there has to be a bottom." Linhart's earnestness and righteousness seemed to be clarifying Brandeis' own motto: "Truth unto its innermost parts."

Anyone who was at the performance would agree that, despite all this political lyricism, it was nevertheless an enjoyable and fun atmosphere. Linhart's crooning voice, reminiscent of Ben Harper, enchanted the ladies and the heavy, energetic percussion got everyone, especially the men, stomping and clapping.

The night reached its climax when they performed "Quench That," a solid reggae anthem with a good "riddim." Even this song, which ranks higher than the other songs on the 'party meter,' still maintains a level of seriousness in its profound words: "Money make the world go round/ You couldn't say it worse/ Money make you go around the world to quench that worldly thirst it do."

While Brandeis students have been treated to big name performances all year, like Ben Folds and Jurassic 5, The Uplifters provided an invigorating and refreshing change of pace with their political message, reggae groove, and shining spirits.