POP MUSIC REVIEW : Mountain’s Sunsplash Chance

Pressure situation? How about a Southern California band landing a spot on the prestigious Reggae Sunsplash tour . . . and having to close the show Saturday at the sold-out first of two nights at the Greek Theatre?

Big Mountain didn’t appear rattled by that nerve-racking situation during a 20-minute set that included its local radio hit, “Touch My Light.” The San Diego quintet’s strong suit is vocal harmonies in the Steel Pulse/Aswad vein, but it needs to punch the rhythms home harder and, not surprisingly, work more on its big-stage performance techniques.

The five-hour Sunsplash package reached its peak when the regal Marcia Griffiths clicked with a memorable, reggae-fied version of Christine McVie’s “Everywhere” and a four-song Bob Marley medley. The closing “Iron Lion Zion”/”Buffalo Soldiers” salvo found Griffiths and the five-piece backing band Skool creating the kind of positive surge that veterans of Marley concerts well recall.

Griffiths’ performance was even enough to outshine Shinehead for a song--until the Jamaican-born, New York-based deejay plunged into the crowd and rapped his second tune from various points in the audience. But a lack of consistent material made his 40-minute set limp to a close.

Earlier, Majek Fashek’s eight-piece band was just hitting its stride when his 30-minute set ended.

Also appearing was headliner Freddy McGregor and deejay Tiger and the Mystic Revealers. The Reggae Sunsplash tour appears today at the Ramona Bowl in Hemet, Friday at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, June 12 at Pacific Amphitheatre and June 13 at the Starlight Bowl in San Diego.