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Beres, Etana rock int'l night II as the 16th Reggae Sumfest comes to an end.
BY Brandon Allwood Observer staff reporter allwoodb@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, July 21, 2008
Even though it's called International Night II, Jamaican musicians were the stars of the final night of the 16th Reggae Sumfest, held in Montego Bay on Saturday, where Beres Hammond and Etana proved that our indigenous reggae music is alive, and kicking. Earlier that night, Montego Bay sat on edge, wondering if they should brave the light but steady showers wetting the second city. but as anyone who was there will tell you, it was a journey worth making.
BERES... intoxicating his fans (Photos: Joseph Wellington)
Hammond, who performed before international rapper Lil' Wayne, was easily the performer of the night. Starting his hour-long set by asking, "What can you do to stop a man from trying?" the 53-year-old singer took patrons on an awesome musical ride down memory lane, and at the same time brought the patrons inside the Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre to fever-pitch excitement.
While belting out hits from his more than three decades- long catalogue of music, women of all ages were seen swooning, while men couldn't help but sing along. At no point during Hammond's early Sunday morning stint onstage did he lose the attention of the hard-to-please Sumfest audience. In fact, as he chanted singles such as Step Aside Now, Putting Up A Resistance, and She Loves Me Now, he reeled in the attention of the crowd even more. Until his final song, Remember The Days, the crowd was on a musical high, which ended only because his time on stage had expired. After that spectacular performance, there was little any other performer could do for the Sumfest audience.
The other major crowd pleaser of the night was The Strong One herself, Etana. The reggae songstress got the first screams of the night when MC Cordell Green brought her on stage. Opening her set with Jah Chariot, the second track on her recently released album, Etana grabbed the audience of the reggae-hungry Sumfest. Her 45-minute performance was more than entertaining,
as she shook off the 'early vibes' when she took the stage shortly after 12. Etana, who came off a tour of Europe last Wednesday, paraded on stage while letting loose crowd favourites like Warrior Love, Wrong Address, and the always pleasing Roots.
Other local acts such as Tarrus Riley also proved to be forces to be reckoned with. Riley's performance saw him bringing on stage his father and veteran entertainer Jimmy Riley, where the two performed a duet in tribute to Reggae. Tarrus also brought on Queen Ifrica, and the two belted out Stay With You, to the approval of the audience, who already had their musical appetite satisfied when he sang Lion Paw, Beware, and She's Royal.
Of the international acts T-Pain and Lil' Wayne, both failed to live up to the hype. Lil' Wayne did better on stage, however, both paled in comparison to Beres Hammond and Etana. T-Pain's performance was painful, as he sounded as if he was singing one, long, 45-minute song, with intermittent dance moves to keep the audience attentive. And were it not for the 200 or so teenage girls inside the Sumfest venue, rapper Lil' Wayne mightn't have got any screams at all. His performance, which ended with him being shirtless (much to the enjoyment of those teenage girls), gave patrons a 'vibe', but he failed to connect to the other thousands jammed in the venue.
Earlier acts of the night, such as Rootz Underground and Brick & Lace were worth watching. Brick & Lace's energetic performance, complete with costume surprises, aptly set the tone for the rest of the night. Their greatest moment was when they performed their runaway hit Love Is Wicked, while Rootz Underground did get the early crowd bumping and grooving with their Time Is An Illusion.
As John Holt brought the curtains down for the last night of the 16th Reggae Sumfest at a few minutes to seven on Sunday morning, patrons filed out of Catherine Hall, eagerly awaiting the 17th renewal of Reggae Sumfest.
BY Brandon Allwood Observer staff reporter allwoodb@jamaicaobserver.com
Monday, July 21, 2008
Even though it's called International Night II, Jamaican musicians were the stars of the final night of the 16th Reggae Sumfest, held in Montego Bay on Saturday, where Beres Hammond and Etana proved that our indigenous reggae music is alive, and kicking. Earlier that night, Montego Bay sat on edge, wondering if they should brave the light but steady showers wetting the second city. but as anyone who was there will tell you, it was a journey worth making.
BERES... intoxicating his fans (Photos: Joseph Wellington) Hammond, who performed before international rapper Lil' Wayne, was easily the performer of the night. Starting his hour-long set by asking, "What can you do to stop a man from trying?" the 53-year-old singer took patrons on an awesome musical ride down memory lane, and at the same time brought the patrons inside the Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre to fever-pitch excitement.
While belting out hits from his more than three decades- long catalogue of music, women of all ages were seen swooning, while men couldn't help but sing along. At no point during Hammond's early Sunday morning stint onstage did he lose the attention of the hard-to-please Sumfest audience. In fact, as he chanted singles such as Step Aside Now, Putting Up A Resistance, and She Loves Me Now, he reeled in the attention of the crowd even more. Until his final song, Remember The Days, the crowd was on a musical high, which ended only because his time on stage had expired. After that spectacular performance, there was little any other performer could do for the Sumfest audience.
The other major crowd pleaser of the night was The Strong One herself, Etana. The reggae songstress got the first screams of the night when MC Cordell Green brought her on stage. Opening her set with Jah Chariot, the second track on her recently released album, Etana grabbed the audience of the reggae-hungry Sumfest. Her 45-minute performance was more than entertaining,
as she shook off the 'early vibes' when she took the stage shortly after 12. Etana, who came off a tour of Europe last Wednesday, paraded on stage while letting loose crowd favourites like Warrior Love, Wrong Address, and the always pleasing Roots.
Other local acts such as Tarrus Riley also proved to be forces to be reckoned with. Riley's performance saw him bringing on stage his father and veteran entertainer Jimmy Riley, where the two performed a duet in tribute to Reggae. Tarrus also brought on Queen Ifrica, and the two belted out Stay With You, to the approval of the audience, who already had their musical appetite satisfied when he sang Lion Paw, Beware, and She's Royal.
Of the international acts T-Pain and Lil' Wayne, both failed to live up to the hype. Lil' Wayne did better on stage, however, both paled in comparison to Beres Hammond and Etana. T-Pain's performance was painful, as he sounded as if he was singing one, long, 45-minute song, with intermittent dance moves to keep the audience attentive. And were it not for the 200 or so teenage girls inside the Sumfest venue, rapper Lil' Wayne mightn't have got any screams at all. His performance, which ended with him being shirtless (much to the enjoyment of those teenage girls), gave patrons a 'vibe', but he failed to connect to the other thousands jammed in the venue.
Earlier acts of the night, such as Rootz Underground and Brick & Lace were worth watching. Brick & Lace's energetic performance, complete with costume surprises, aptly set the tone for the rest of the night. Their greatest moment was when they performed their runaway hit Love Is Wicked, while Rootz Underground did get the early crowd bumping and grooving with their Time Is An Illusion.
As John Holt brought the curtains down for the last night of the 16th Reggae Sumfest at a few minutes to seven on Sunday morning, patrons filed out of Catherine Hall, eagerly awaiting the 17th renewal of Reggae Sumfest.
A section of the audience at Reggae Sumfest's Dancehall Night Thursday. (Photos: Joseph Wellington)
Beenie Man dancing with a lady during his performance at Reggae Sumfest Thursday night.
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