An evening before Dramarama with Bo Diddley and Mento Buru - By N.L. Belardes
Prior to the Filthies Dramarama and a little sprinkling of my own I went and hung out at the CSUB amphitheatre with chingpea and the War Days Director to catch local ska king legends, Mento Buru and big-time rock legend, Bo Diddley.
I arrived a little late, parked across the street along the bike path and the dry kern riverbed and we all made our way to the grassy amphitheatre bowl where the 9-piece Mento Buru orchestra was already well underway to livening up a large crowd of around 800-900 folks.
I had spoken briefly with Pat Evans of World Records so see if I could bring a camera. “Just bring your gear out,” he said. And so I did and right away snapped some shots of the ska kings in form: Matt Munoz at the lead and calling on his bandmates to improvise in a cacophony of ‘skakersfield’ chorus led by the congo-artist Dave Rodriguez who performed a maddening congo solo, then bass player Caleb Moore who played one of the best bass solos I have ever witnessed, then Cesareo Garasa on drums… What can I say about Cesareo? Check this out: afterwards I got my Karmahitlist/Mento Buru collector’s item drumsticks memorabilia, because C-man signed autographs for a group of cool cat kids who were all inspired by Cesareo “The Assassin” Garasa and his ability to ‘shoot to kill’ with his ska-drum off-beat solo... whoah!
Cesareo signs an autograph
And then there was Bo Diddley. I would do a huge write up on this legend, but feel it would be better served if you all read Neal Strauss article in this month's Rolling Stone titled, “The Indestructible Beat of Bo Diddley.”
n.l. captures the media capturing the audience
Pictures and a poem:
when rock and roll history sings
the crowd is in awe
of the man with the square guitar
who will one day sing even as he steps into heaven
I arrived a little late, parked across the street along the bike path and the dry kern riverbed and we all made our way to the grassy amphitheatre bowl where the 9-piece Mento Buru orchestra was already well underway to livening up a large crowd of around 800-900 folks.
I had spoken briefly with Pat Evans of World Records so see if I could bring a camera. “Just bring your gear out,” he said. And so I did and right away snapped some shots of the ska kings in form: Matt Munoz at the lead and calling on his bandmates to improvise in a cacophony of ‘skakersfield’ chorus led by the congo-artist Dave Rodriguez who performed a maddening congo solo, then bass player Caleb Moore who played one of the best bass solos I have ever witnessed, then Cesareo Garasa on drums… What can I say about Cesareo? Check this out: afterwards I got my Karmahitlist/Mento Buru collector’s item drumsticks memorabilia, because C-man signed autographs for a group of cool cat kids who were all inspired by Cesareo “The Assassin” Garasa and his ability to ‘shoot to kill’ with his ska-drum off-beat solo... whoah!
Cesareo signs an autograph
And then there was Bo Diddley. I would do a huge write up on this legend, but feel it would be better served if you all read Neal Strauss article in this month's Rolling Stone titled, “The Indestructible Beat of Bo Diddley.”
n.l. captures the media capturing the audience
Pictures and a poem:
when rock and roll history sings
the crowd is in awe
of the man with the square guitar
who will one day sing even as he steps into heaven
This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on
Sunday, August 21, 2005.
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Thank Nick for documenting this show. One of the best shows of our career. Bo was such a nice man, even watching from the side stage. He will be missed.
God Bless Bo!
Matt
Mento Buru / Bakotopia
That was one of the most memorable shows I've seen. I didn't feel like I was outdoors but in a little room, enjoying a private show from a very respected legend in music.
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