Post by kaya on Dec 31, 2005 11:51:07 GMT -5
ARTICLE:
Jr Gong, Morgan Heritage shine at Welcome to Jamrock
Observer staff reporter
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
There were very few people in the venue when the Appleton-sponsored Welcome to Jamrock concert started, ontime as promised by the promoters. As the show progressed, however, Cinema 2, at the former New Kingston Drive-In, began to fill, and by the time the big acts for the evening took the stage, a reasonably sized audience began to fill the empty spaces.
Patrons who arrived early were treated to performances by two up-and-coming artistes, Alaine, (whose single No Ordinary Love is currently receiving heavy rotation on the local airways) and Gyptian, whose single Serious Times has been a staple on the charts for many weeks.
At precisely the time advertised, Richie Spice, dressed in his trademark red, green and gold coat entered the stage with not one, but two flagmen, providing the action that he did not.
Onstage action or not, Richie Spice set the mood for the night, allowing his captive audience to sing along to his many hits. Some favourites that got 'forwards' included Righteous Youth, Blood Again and Ghetto Girl, but the audience got a little more than they bargained for when Spice introduced his brother, Spanner Banner.
Banner, who just returned to Jamaica last year to revive his career, teased the audience with a remake of the song that brought him his greatest popularity, Life Goes On, and the audience loved it.
The appearance by Morgan Heritage, however, was the moment the show really got going, as by this time, the trickle of patrons expanded to a flood. Delivering a set of dance tunes and love songs, the band received much love from the audience, especially when Gramps, the keyboard player, delivered a line from She's Been Loving Me, the audience went wild. From then on, it was the current top-ten hit How Come, before the band left the stage for the producers to prepare for the next act.
Music and vibes between sets were provided by Stone Love, with Geefus hyping up the crowd with a mix of the current hits. The VIP area was full to the brim, as patrons took advantage of the chance to mingle with the celebrity-studded crowd spilling over from backstage. Spotted were Leftside and Esco, Tami Chynn and Wayne Marshall, to name a few.
Next was Buju Banton, who, looking thinner with every performance, started his set with the hit Hills And Valleys. This got the audience going, and from then the Gargamel delivered hit after hit from past albums and singles, including a powerful instrumental medley version of Untold Stories.
This was by no means one of his better performances, but being a perennial favourite in front of a home crowd, Buju received an encore, for which he delivered a medley of his current and older dancehall tunes like Not An Easy Road, Battyrider and Big It Up. But despite pleas from the audience, Buju gave in to the promoters, who were adamant that the show stick to schedule.
After a relatively quick band change, headliner Damian "Jr Gong" Marley came onstage at 1:00 am. Eerily clad in a black grim reaper style cape and dressed from head-to-toe in a black blazer, vest, and, of course, his signature Clark Wallabies, Marley entered through a cloud of smoke to a hyped-up rendition of Confrontation.
Marley's performance was centred around songs from his Grammy-Award winning Half Way Tree album and his new Welcome To Jamrock. Jr Gong delivered in style and definitely gave the audience the performance most people came to see. In the middle of his 90-minute set, Marley covered some of his father Bob Marley's singles, inviting brother Kymani Marley on stage. Here the set lagged somewhat, but then Damian brought back the energy level mixing his track Move with a cover of Exodus.
The show ended promptly at 2:00 am and Marley exited the stage without any callbacks from the audience.
Taken from the Jamaica Observer
www.jamaicaobserver.com
Jr Gong, Morgan Heritage shine at Welcome to Jamrock
Observer staff reporter
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
There were very few people in the venue when the Appleton-sponsored Welcome to Jamrock concert started, ontime as promised by the promoters. As the show progressed, however, Cinema 2, at the former New Kingston Drive-In, began to fill, and by the time the big acts for the evening took the stage, a reasonably sized audience began to fill the empty spaces.
Patrons who arrived early were treated to performances by two up-and-coming artistes, Alaine, (whose single No Ordinary Love is currently receiving heavy rotation on the local airways) and Gyptian, whose single Serious Times has been a staple on the charts for many weeks.
At precisely the time advertised, Richie Spice, dressed in his trademark red, green and gold coat entered the stage with not one, but two flagmen, providing the action that he did not.
Onstage action or not, Richie Spice set the mood for the night, allowing his captive audience to sing along to his many hits. Some favourites that got 'forwards' included Righteous Youth, Blood Again and Ghetto Girl, but the audience got a little more than they bargained for when Spice introduced his brother, Spanner Banner.
Banner, who just returned to Jamaica last year to revive his career, teased the audience with a remake of the song that brought him his greatest popularity, Life Goes On, and the audience loved it.
The appearance by Morgan Heritage, however, was the moment the show really got going, as by this time, the trickle of patrons expanded to a flood. Delivering a set of dance tunes and love songs, the band received much love from the audience, especially when Gramps, the keyboard player, delivered a line from She's Been Loving Me, the audience went wild. From then on, it was the current top-ten hit How Come, before the band left the stage for the producers to prepare for the next act.
Music and vibes between sets were provided by Stone Love, with Geefus hyping up the crowd with a mix of the current hits. The VIP area was full to the brim, as patrons took advantage of the chance to mingle with the celebrity-studded crowd spilling over from backstage. Spotted were Leftside and Esco, Tami Chynn and Wayne Marshall, to name a few.
Next was Buju Banton, who, looking thinner with every performance, started his set with the hit Hills And Valleys. This got the audience going, and from then the Gargamel delivered hit after hit from past albums and singles, including a powerful instrumental medley version of Untold Stories.
This was by no means one of his better performances, but being a perennial favourite in front of a home crowd, Buju received an encore, for which he delivered a medley of his current and older dancehall tunes like Not An Easy Road, Battyrider and Big It Up. But despite pleas from the audience, Buju gave in to the promoters, who were adamant that the show stick to schedule.
After a relatively quick band change, headliner Damian "Jr Gong" Marley came onstage at 1:00 am. Eerily clad in a black grim reaper style cape and dressed from head-to-toe in a black blazer, vest, and, of course, his signature Clark Wallabies, Marley entered through a cloud of smoke to a hyped-up rendition of Confrontation.
Marley's performance was centred around songs from his Grammy-Award winning Half Way Tree album and his new Welcome To Jamrock. Jr Gong delivered in style and definitely gave the audience the performance most people came to see. In the middle of his 90-minute set, Marley covered some of his father Bob Marley's singles, inviting brother Kymani Marley on stage. Here the set lagged somewhat, but then Damian brought back the energy level mixing his track Move with a cover of Exodus.
The show ended promptly at 2:00 am and Marley exited the stage without any callbacks from the audience.
Taken from the Jamaica Observer
www.jamaicaobserver.com