By: David Schultz

After Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff, there isn't a bigger name in reggae than Toots Hibbert. His widespread legacy includes an appearance in The Harder They Come, reggae's Citizen Kane, his songs have been covered by reggae artists and beyond and just recently contributed a cover of "Let Down" the Easy Star All Stars' Radiodread. Throughout their career, Toots and the Maytals have remained a viable live attraction, selling out Manhattan's Nokia Theater during last April's Green Apple Music & Arts Festival. This Wednesday, on one of the first frigid evenings to strike New York City this winter, the reggae legend returned to the Big Apple with his latest band of Maytals, warming things up by bringing Caribbean reggae and soul to a sold-out Canal Room.

Taking the stage in a snazzy purple suit, the 61-year-old singer led the Maytals through a quick version of "Pressure Drop." Opening the show with his biggest hit seemed akin to Lynyrd Skynyrd kicking off a show with "Free Bird," but Toots had more reggae classics in store and methodically worked his way through his back catalogue. It's been a while since Toots had an outburst of new material; his latest album consisted of high-profile duets with the likes of Eric Clapton, Ben Harper and Willie Nelson. As such, the set remained focused on original classics like "Funky Kingston," "Monkey Man" and "Reggae Got Soul" and adaptations like "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Louie, Louie."

Toots and the Maytals predominantly followed the same pattern for most of the songs. After a verse or two, Toots would engage in a call-and-response with the audience, giving them a chance to lustily sing along and then the band would speed the song up with the crowd bouncing excitedly along with Hibbert. Though repetitive, the pattern remained effective. A significant deviation from the formula occurred in the encore during Otis Redding's "I've Got Dreams To Remember." Remaining stationary at the mike, Toots captured the song's smoldering soul

Even though he may be responsible for naming the genre in his 1968 hit "Do The Reggay," Toots has always been more than just a reggae singer. Clearly influenced over the years by James Brown, Toots remembered the Godfather Of Soul with a little off-the-cuff detour into "I Feel Good" with an accompanying Good Foot shuffle. The Maytals even modified their customary response to their leader's call to "hit me" from a reggae bounce into a James Brown sting. In working "Say It Loud (I'm Black And I'm Proud)" into a song, Toots acknowledged the predominantly white crowd, modifying the lyrics to exude pride in all races.

The one-off Canal Room show will be Toots and the Maytals last scheduled performance until March, when they play a slate of shows in Florida as well as the Langerado Music Festival.

Labels: Toots and the Maytals