rbGB is an inspiring example of the amazing multimedia work that can be done to bring communities into the Green, and the conversations that should happen with people of all colors to help humanity survive and thrive.

Bamuthi Joseph captivates his audience from the moment they step into the room to find the performers at home in and on unique, colorful installations. The first section of the performance thus begins with the audience mere inches from the artists. At such close range, we are reminded that we are not mere onlookers of the performance nor of life.

Such an introduction creatively sets a precedent for the whole evening, where audience members are consistently connected as participants of a critical discussion in new light: how do we sustain the human race? What role do cultural roots and history play? And who is responsible for this task?

We find our way to our seats only to fall into a whirlwind of true stories and fictionalized memoirs; snatches of conversations and breathtaking dance duets; rousing vocals and indelible spoken word; narratives that gracefully built on each other in the most beautifully crafted manner of telling a story.

The homeless user, caught in a cycle of drugs, dropping hard truths about his situation in a whisper caught by nervous passersby too busy to care.

A mother, too devastated by the loss of her son to feel compassion for the question of climate change.

The boy who was like good brown earth that would be prized in a garden, but whose life was taken in a city where it seems that nothing can grow.

The hopeful organizer of a sustainability initiative, pummeled with familiar guilt trips about faucets and organic produce who stops us with humor to ask- how are those Green dreams possible?

This question is highly relevant to many communities across America, where access to good, affordable food and education is unthinkable- let alone access to the necessary means for sustainability.

Marc Bamuthi Joseph's eloquent response to the show's question is built upon a narrative swirl of energy, humor, sadness, passion, and hope: "Red state /Blues people /Use art /To shift Black /Towards Green."

Tonight's performance was a powerful conversation with a clearly supportive audience, and I hope that rbGb and similar conversations can be introduced widely into schools and communities across the country- particularly those that might not normally have access to such an incredible event.

There are only two more days to catch the unparalleled rbGb performance at YBCA, and the performers are moving out with delectable energy that is not to be missed. A must-see for anyone who cares for this earth and for unbelievable performances:

Last two shows: Oct 21-22, 7:30pm, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

EBAC thanks the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts for access to the show.

Photo Credits: Bethaniel Hines Photography

The set began strong, with an explosion of Island style, and the energy never dropped off. Drummer Joseph Dickens - shirtless though he was - laid down a consistently intricate and danceable beat, never wavering throughout the set. Every song felt real - perhaps it was due to Iration's youth, but their music comes with the sincerity of a group that believes in its writing.

The audience sang along to many of Iration's songs. The band has been around long enough for their songs to develop a following, but they still play with the excitement of a newly-discovered band on tour for the first time. The dramatic stage lighting certainly deepened the experience as well, following the individual contours of the music.

Scattered tastefully throughout the set, Micah Pueschel's guitar solos brought an intensity that propelled several of the songs to new heights. Each one energized the entire audience, and their enthusiastic dancing increased in proportion.

Reggae fan Samantha Heller of Concord, CA - new to Iration - said that she liked the message of the songs. "It was really moving music, and I think everybody liked it," she said. "It felt cool to listen to." Heller added that she especially liked the sound of the bass.

Later in the show, Rebelution also performed with an incredible stage presence, but their set was more mature, and cautious. Their songs were carefully-formed, and "radio-ready," where Iration's set was much looser, and bordered on improvisational. Despite Rebelution's firm establishment in the Reggae community, they lacked the raw live energy of Iration's set, and the audience didn't groove quite as hard.

In the end, the appeal of a band like Iration transcends the limits of genre, or the confines of musical production. Rather, it's about the unique story of its members, and the sheer joy they exude while performing onstage. It's about the personal connection with the audience, deeply felt by every fan in attendance that night. And most of all, it's about the passion evident in every guitar stroke, drum hit, and happily-sung lyric, and the ability of that passion to communicate the energy of Reggae.

Special bonus review: After the show, we stopped by Pizza Man, at 1442 Broadway in Oakland. Their gigantic slice cost $2.50, and it was the best I've had in a long time. To quote my tape recording of the experience: "Oh man, this is so good. It makes my entire mouth happy." Definitely a solid follow-up to a high-energy Reggae show.

EBAC thanks Iration for access to this concert.

The concert was markedly informal, even for famously-lax conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, and its outdoor nature added a fresh flavor of unpredictability. At one point, Tilson Thomas held a particular note for 15 seconds when the wind flipped a page in his score. A few moments later, he continued conducting with his right hand, while reaching over and grabbing a binder clip from the concertmaster's music stand.

The general atmosphere of the concert was also dramatically unpredictable. Sirens and horns mixed periodically with Beethoven and Berlioz, and bells from the Ferry Building delayed the start of two separate pieces (at the hour and half-hour). Add that to the mixed audience of families, businesspeople on their lunch breaks, schoolchildren, homeless people, and one guy in a baseball cap tap-dancing along to the music, and you've got yourself a cross-section of San Francisco's population.

Still, the best part of the performance was Tilson Thomas' decision to play real music for ordinary people. Lots of orchestras will choose to play "pops music" in their more public concerts, sticking with easy-to-listen-to favorites like "Stars and Stripes Forever" and well-known movie themes. Tilson Thomas, however, has always been dedicated to connecting regular listeners with the great works, and today was no exception. Wagner and Tchaikovsky, Berlioz and Beethoven, even some rarely-played Delibes provided the audience with a wonderfully-broad survey of fine Classical music. And even if the students in the audience weren't paying much attention, isn't that the music to which we should expose them?

There was no obvious attraction, like Israeli basketball star Omri Caspi at the Warriors' Jewish Heritage Night last February. Rather, the Jews came out solely for the fun of celebrating their history, and gathering together as a community.

As I learned at Chabad's pre-game tailgate barbeque, Jewish history is intimately intertwined with baseball. "Hank Greenberg came along at a time when Jews were very oppressed in America, and anti-Semitism was at its most rampant," said Howard Sapper, originally from Pittsburgh. "Hank Greenberg gave American Jews a reason to have pride, and from that place you get many many Jewish baseball fans." Sapper said that Greenberg was one of the main draws for pre-war and post-war Jews to baseball.

However, on this particular day, aside from some fairly insistent JNF ads on the scoreboard, I didn't see much Judaism inside the stadium. The national anthem and 7^th inning stretch were not sung by Jews, nor was the first pitch thrown out by one. Between the 4^th and 5^th innings, the scoreboard showed a brief historical video about Hank Greenberg, but it was only the length of a commercial break.

In fact, Tuesday's entire production was nothing compared to the Warriors' Jewish Heritage Night, which featured Jews, Jewish groups, Jewish schoolchildren, and Jewish activities at every break. (Granted, the Warriors didn't have a lot of other fans in attendance that night, and the Giants had over 30,000, but the Giants could easily have expanded the celebration without losing too much.)

Still, the existence of Jewish Heritage Night is a testament to the Bay Area Jewish community, and to founder Rabbi Yosef Langer of Chabad. "Every opportunity that we have to make Jews happy, and to show Jewish pride to the nations of the world, we take that opportunity," Langer said. "What better way than a tailgate at the ballpark with hot dogs and beer, and cotton candy, in the parking lot?" Langer said that this is the project's fourth or fifth year, and he does it with the Warriors and Raiders as well.

"I think that it's a really good atmosphere at the ballpark," said Abby Rochman, 13 and Jewish, of San Francisco. "We went last year, and we had a lot of fun." She said that even though she's terribly observant, she appreciates the Jewish traditions, and their role in uniting the community. "[Jewish Heritage Night] is a good place to feel like you're around people that you can relate to," she said. "It's comfortable."

Ben Ryzak, of Foster City, was sitting next to Rochman. "Jews have always had a place in professional baseball," said Ryzak, a student at the Jewish Community High School of the Bay. "At my house, baseball's practically a religion in and of itself."

Becky Trigonis, a longtime camper and lifeguard at Camp Tawonga (a local Jewish overnight summer camp), was impressed by the community's strength. "It's really cool that they have a Jewish Heritage Night at the baseball game, and that so many Jewish people come out for it," she said. "I think we're very unified."

And that seemed to be the theme of Tuesday's Jewish Heritage Night at AT&T Park. The entire Jewish community sat together, in three designated sections, and enjoyed the excitement of a late-season baseball game. Coupled with the unity of Bay Area Judaism, Jewish Heritage Night seemed to strike a deep and reverent chord inside all of the attendees.

"We go out into the world and use sports to have a good time, and do whatever we can to show our Jewish pride," Rabbi Langer said. "We're all Yids, right?"

EBAC thanks the San Francisco Giants for access to the Jewish Heritage Night events.