Pato Banton warms up Skipper’s

All photos by Phil Bardi.

Despite temperatures that dipped below 30 Wednesday night, a few hundred bundled-up locals managed to make it out to Skipper’s Smokehouse Wednesday night to see British reggae toaster/singer Pato Banton (pictured) perform with LA hip-hop-meets-reggae rock outfit Mystic Roots, a tight little sextet with a two-piece horn section (sax and trumpet) and youthful, energetic players who laid down the grooves with laid-back ease.

Banton was an effervescent showman who sang, toasted, rapped, talked and encouraged the crowd to join him throughout. He was petite and trim and quite the dapper gentleman with his British accent and Euro-urban flair, matching white jacket, shirt, hat and sneaks (apparently a sort of uniform), his positive energy shining as brightly as his clothes. (More pics after the jump.)

This article appears in Feb 4-10, 2009.