Post by kaya on Apr 19, 2008 0:43:04 GMT -5
Marley Brothers Shine at Smile Jamaica
The Marley Brothers delivered a spirited and lively set at the historic combined Smile Jamaica-Africa Unite concert. The long night into the morning was marked by countless notable performances in honour of Bob Marley and his vision.
A feel of eager anticipation gripped the crowd that gathered at the beach minutes to the 8pm scheduled show time as images of Bob Marley and Rastafari on flags floated in the wind bringing a mystic touch to the venue. Crowds trailed in throughout the night awaiting the best in International and local acts. 2 Face Idibia from Eastern Nigeria soulfully hailed his African Queens as he expressed his deep love for Jamaica and Bob Marley.
Veteran Bunny Wailer gave one of his most energetic and appreciated performances in a while blazing with his older hits. It was when American soul crooner John Legend took the stage that the venue came together as one to hear Legend wow the crowd. Women flocked to Legend’s glowing white appearance like moth to a flame as he melodically sand Save Room, Ordinary People, Stay With You and more even inviting one lucky lady on stage as he serenaded her. Legend’s skills on the piano were not lost as well with a huge grand piano placed in the centre of the stage as teased the keys.
After a slight break Barbadian singer turned pop icon Rihanna looked daring in a short green and gold number. Rihanna looked ecstatic to be on the Jamaican stage as she caressed the mic, flipped her short hair and gave a little whine now and again. Rihanna entered on stage to her rendition of Bob Marley’s Is This Love before going into tracks from her Good Girl Gone Bad album. Singing Breaking Dishes and Shut Up and Drive Rihanna went into her International hit song with Jay Z Umbrella that did not fail in having audiences singing along.
While the concert was going good an extremely long band change had some patrons filing out of the venue having seen the two International acts. Close to an hour later Ziggy Marley embraced the Jamaican stage after a five-year absence. Ziggy was in his element playing his guitar and singing songs from his Melody Makers days to his latest solo effort Love Is My Religion.
Some patrons were well into Ziggy’s performance while others rocked and some obviously wanted the show to continue. Ziggy gave more than half an hour’s worth of songs before making way for his brothers at minutes to 5am. Ky-mani, Stephen, Julian and Damian then hit the stage as patrons again moved towards the stage. Singing songs from their father such as War, Roots Rock Reggae and others the brothers were excellent.
It was when Damian ‘Junior Gong’ Marley took over the mic that the venue exploded with energy. Damian and Stephen got together for Traffic Jam, Beautiful and The Mission that had hands flying in the air. He also touched on Pimper’s Paradise and Welcome to Jamrock before welcoming Mykal Rose on stage for their song Shoot Out. The energy on stage at this point was explosive as they wined down and droves of patrons left the venue after the Marley’s performance.
For those that stayed after 6am there were more surprises from spectacular artistes. The showings from the remaining artistes were short with many performing about three tracks each. Elephant Man performed to recorded tracks, with Chris Brown as his surprise guest. A smiling Brown took off his shirt to showcase his toned body to the pleasure of the women. Short but electrifying stints then followed from Spragga Benz, Etana, Lutan Fyah, Richie Spice and Tarrus Riley who mixed Bob Marley’s music into his song Backbiter.
Sizzla gave a more extended showing at the end, combining with Capleton to close off the concert. As Bob’s legend continues, Smile Jamaica will return on February 28, 2009.