Aba had just started sound checking when the venue owner came in and then things got heated.
He was upset that the venue only had 15 minutes to opening and we were sound checking.
This resulting in some misunderstanding, but it was resolved to all's satisfaction with handshakes and hugs all round.

We left the venue at 21:00 and went back to the hotel to rest up.
Guil came to get us at 00:15 and back to the venue we went.
We arrived at the venue and there were some people milling about outside, but not many.
We entered the club at 00:45 and the sound check took place. Aba was still sound checking when Guil said how much longer did he need and Aba told him to "Let the people them in". The time 01:00.
The people came from nowhere and I kid you not, within 15 minutes the place was packed.
I could not believe it and I looked at Aba and he at me as if to say,
"Where have all these people come from?"
I looked down from the stage at Guil and he was smiling. Raspect Guil you know your market..

Jews, Christians, Muslims, all denominations and all creeds were present.
This was going to be a night of serious oneness.
Aba took the people on a musical journey touching down in Perry / Marley land and all points west via
Yabba U, Old JA Roots, British Roots and all kinda Roots, Trunk and Branches of cultural reggae music.
I watched as the children of Israel lost themselves in the music and they created a vibe that you could almost touch.

Ras Natty Congo who usually runs an arts and crafts stall at these events had told us earlier in the evening that he was not going to run one tonight, even though he had brought the stall with him. He was coming to dance. True to his word Ras Natty Congo danced the night away waving the Ites, red, gold and green flag in the air.

The daughters of Israel came right to the front of the stage and graced the dance floor with sensuous moves like the ebb and flow of the tide. There was love to the max in the place.
The crowd stayed right to the every end, dancing continuously for over 4 and a half hours.
It was an amazing sight to behold and I am not easily impressed, but come 05:30 and it was time to bid farewell. The crowd cheered in unison as Aba thanked them for coming out to check us.
So many people said that they had never heard Bob Marley tunes played over a huge sound system and that they sounded so different at that volume.What people forget is that before Bob was an international star, he was just another struggling singer from de ghetto, and tunes that the crowd knew were recuts from original raw reggae tunes produced at 'Black Ark' by Lee Perry.
When he signed to 'Island' Chris Blackwell had the tunes remixed and added all kinds of crap that were never on the original, so that they would appeal to the mass market. Compare the original 'Small Axe' to the polished version from 'Island'.
What Aba ran were the original unadulterated JA mixes by Lee Perry, plus the dubs.

Why settle for the twig when you can have the Roots.

Thanks to Robbi and to McGyver for the sound system.

A large amount of people wanted to shake our hands and thank us for coming. There were women crying with joy.
One in particular asked me if she could go up on stage and say thanks to Aba and when she got next to him she threw her arms around him and with tears streaming down her face begged him not to leave it so long before he returned. This he duly acknowledged.
The whole vibe of the night was in the words of Guil Rasta,
"A POWERFULL, I say again POWERFULL experience for all present, Rasta. These people have experienced something wonderful and they know it Rasta. This has been the best session, the best ever,I tell you Lion".
I just had to nod my head in agreement, because for me just to see the people's joy was a blessing.

Driving through Tel Aviv at night was a surreal experience. The warm night punctuated by the cool breeze from the Mediterranean as you drive through streets being followed by a police car with lights flashing and every turn you make they make to. But they don't stop you, they are just trying to intimidate you, and to see if you are a person(s) bent on nefarious moves, if they can panic you into doing something stupid, like trying to outrun them.
Israel is not a place to play 'Badman' for my uncle's words never rang truer, "Badman deh ah cemetery"
Young women soldiers with guns nearly as tall as they are patrolling the streets. Every establishment has armed security guards and I cannot comment on the amount of private individuals with guns, and they have all learnt to use them in the army or at least the majority has.
Security in Israel is paramount for obvious reasons.

We got to the hotel at 06:40 had some breakfast and then went to bed.

Saturday: 01/10/2005
I awoke at 11:00 and went for a walkabout. I walked down the street towards the beach and a made a right turn and there across the road was the US embassy complete with uniformed armed guards.
As I walked passed the embassy I noticed the civilian clad guards trying to be inconspicuous just walking up and down the street, some hope!
I turned the next right and there ahead of me was the offices of 'El Al' the Israeli national airline.
Hmmm, I thought to myself I will have to have a word with Guil, as this block the hotel was in could be in one sense one of the more secure areas of Tel Aviv and in another the most dangerous.

I continued on my walkabout and ended up back at the hotel at 13:40.
Guil was coming to collect us at 14:15 so I went back up to our floor and knocked on Aba's door to wake him. Aba was already awake and he opened the door and we sat down to discuss the session the night before.

I was looking out of the window when I saw a huge plume of smoke rising into the sky about a mile or two in the distance. I directed Aba's attention to it and we watched as the plume got darker and darker.
It looked like to me that it was an explosion and an explosion in Israel meant bomb.
We could see the traffic in the distant and there didn't seem to be any panic with cars turning around or a jam starting.
The air was soon full of sirens, police, fire and ambulance as I watched them from my lofty tower, heading in the direction of the smoke plume.

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