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Oh, what a moment!
BY YASMINE PERU Entertainment editor [email protected]
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
The anticipation was high, the energy electric and the mood totally in synergy with the moment. The countdown began on the four big screens inside the National Indoor Sports Centre, and patrons started shuffling excitedly in their seats. At exactly 8:00 pm, the clock paused, it was that time - the long-awaited Moment In Time.
And it was a moment that belonged not just to Beres Hammond, but also his friends, the musicians, the patrons, the production team and certainly the sponsors. It was a classical production which put on show the power of music over talk. Except for short on-screen vignettes mentioning Hammond, throughout the entire first half of the show, during which Hammond's friends paid tribute, the music eloquently did all the talking.
Since there were no emcees, the artistes went on stage unannounced, and it was just too bad for you if you didn't do a crash course in Reggae 101, which would have enabled you to put names to faces. Many a guessing game was played as the artistes entered the stage and some of the uninitiated were heard whispering: "Who dat?"
Of course, the man of the moment needed no introduction. In his ad inviting patrons to the show, Hammond had noted that "music is like communion", and when, after the too-long break, the psychedelic lights went on show, patrons knew that the moment had come for Hammond to serve them their bread and wine. He was ready to communicate the musical message and they were all prepped for the repast.
Uncommonly clad in jacket, and looking just a bit uncomfortable, Hammond, with his signature charismatic smile, took the walk down the aisle onto the stage to deafening hoots of approval from his fans - male and female alike. Clearly, this was the real beginning of that Moment In Time.
Shrugging quickly out of his jacket, he delivered I'm In Love With You, What One Dance Can Do, She Loves Me Now, Step Aside Now, Tempted To Touch, Double Trouble, which were all dramatised onstage by dancers from the Edna Manley School, while the Sugar Hill Symphony Orchestra, led by Peter Ashbourne, took reggae beyond and above its perceived musical boundaries.
The capacity audience, intent on making the most of the moment, hung on greedily to every syllable that fell from the lips of the singer. "Talk in the mic," they shouted when they felt that Hammond had made a comment that passed them by. And, in a mood to please, he did just that, even while explaining that his mouth had got him in trouble on occasion, so some things they really shouldn't hear - like perhaps his barely-off-mic comment "Hypocite" when he complained that his song Moment In Time wasn't being played by the disc jocks and one man, (perhaps a disc jock), stepped out of his seat to shake his hand.
It was obvious that Hammond was overcome with the love shown by his fans who clearly felt that the ticket prices of $4,000 and $6,000 were justified and rose to the occasion. He even confessed to being just a little bit nervous when he looked out and saw the huge audience.
"For me, this is a dream come true," he said and immediately offered favourites like One Step Ahead and Gotta Get Away, on which the orchestra performed a solo that proved to be a mesmerising moment.
Asking if he should stage the show again next year, and receiving a resounding yes, Hammond then proceeded to carve out another moment. Fever-pitched screams, fans on their feet, hands in the air: all this and more preceded the arrival of the Gargamel, Buju Banton.
Buju smiled; Beres smiled; the two men hugged, neither of them could ever doubt that the other was his friend. Yes, even if they didn't sing a single note, that alone would have been enough to justify that greeting as "a moment".
"He's the boss," Banton asserted jovially, "when we're on tour that's what we call him, the boss. So what he tells me to do, I do." And what followed was a performance that can best be described in superlatives, or one could simply say, "It was a sell-off performance dat dun di place."
Possessing a musical chemistry that is unmatched, Buju and Beres performed hits from their Penthouse days with ace producer Donovan Germaine. They did the famous "legs ting" with both of them moving to the music as they carried their legs all the way up to their chests; Buju sang, Beres deejayed, and it was superb.
During the tribute section, Dean Fraser, Lenya Wilks (of Rising Stars fame) Big Youth, U-Roy, Bob Andy, Marcia Griffiths, Freddy McGregor and Banton showed their love, respect and admiration for Hammond. Not often seen on stage, elder statesmen Big Youth, U-Roy and Bob Andy showed off their class and artistry and delivered hits that have stood the test of time.
Marcia Griffiths, always regally attired, outdid even herself on this occasion. She sang audience favourites including Dreamland and I Can Sing, while McGregor offered Push Come To Shove, and Longing To See You as part of his repertoire. The audience showed their appreciation unreservedly and sang with them verse for verse.
Then, at the end of the show, enter the magnificent all-school mass choir which provided the chorus for a single from Beres' soon-to-be-released album. The future musically fused with the present.
Saturday night's fare at the National Indoor Sports Centre was truly not an event, it was A Moment In Time.
BY YASMINE PERU Entertainment editor [email protected]
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
The anticipation was high, the energy electric and the mood totally in synergy with the moment. The countdown began on the four big screens inside the National Indoor Sports Centre, and patrons started shuffling excitedly in their seats. At exactly 8:00 pm, the clock paused, it was that time - the long-awaited Moment In Time.
And it was a moment that belonged not just to Beres Hammond, but also his friends, the musicians, the patrons, the production team and certainly the sponsors. It was a classical production which put on show the power of music over talk. Except for short on-screen vignettes mentioning Hammond, throughout the entire first half of the show, during which Hammond's friends paid tribute, the music eloquently did all the talking.
Since there were no emcees, the artistes went on stage unannounced, and it was just too bad for you if you didn't do a crash course in Reggae 101, which would have enabled you to put names to faces. Many a guessing game was played as the artistes entered the stage and some of the uninitiated were heard whispering: "Who dat?"
Of course, the man of the moment needed no introduction. In his ad inviting patrons to the show, Hammond had noted that "music is like communion", and when, after the too-long break, the psychedelic lights went on show, patrons knew that the moment had come for Hammond to serve them their bread and wine. He was ready to communicate the musical message and they were all prepped for the repast.
Uncommonly clad in jacket, and looking just a bit uncomfortable, Hammond, with his signature charismatic smile, took the walk down the aisle onto the stage to deafening hoots of approval from his fans - male and female alike. Clearly, this was the real beginning of that Moment In Time.
Shrugging quickly out of his jacket, he delivered I'm In Love With You, What One Dance Can Do, She Loves Me Now, Step Aside Now, Tempted To Touch, Double Trouble, which were all dramatised onstage by dancers from the Edna Manley School, while the Sugar Hill Symphony Orchestra, led by Peter Ashbourne, took reggae beyond and above its perceived musical boundaries.
The capacity audience, intent on making the most of the moment, hung on greedily to every syllable that fell from the lips of the singer. "Talk in the mic," they shouted when they felt that Hammond had made a comment that passed them by. And, in a mood to please, he did just that, even while explaining that his mouth had got him in trouble on occasion, so some things they really shouldn't hear - like perhaps his barely-off-mic comment "Hypocite" when he complained that his song Moment In Time wasn't being played by the disc jocks and one man, (perhaps a disc jock), stepped out of his seat to shake his hand.
It was obvious that Hammond was overcome with the love shown by his fans who clearly felt that the ticket prices of $4,000 and $6,000 were justified and rose to the occasion. He even confessed to being just a little bit nervous when he looked out and saw the huge audience.
"For me, this is a dream come true," he said and immediately offered favourites like One Step Ahead and Gotta Get Away, on which the orchestra performed a solo that proved to be a mesmerising moment.
Asking if he should stage the show again next year, and receiving a resounding yes, Hammond then proceeded to carve out another moment. Fever-pitched screams, fans on their feet, hands in the air: all this and more preceded the arrival of the Gargamel, Buju Banton.
Buju smiled; Beres smiled; the two men hugged, neither of them could ever doubt that the other was his friend. Yes, even if they didn't sing a single note, that alone would have been enough to justify that greeting as "a moment".
"He's the boss," Banton asserted jovially, "when we're on tour that's what we call him, the boss. So what he tells me to do, I do." And what followed was a performance that can best be described in superlatives, or one could simply say, "It was a sell-off performance dat dun di place."
Possessing a musical chemistry that is unmatched, Buju and Beres performed hits from their Penthouse days with ace producer Donovan Germaine. They did the famous "legs ting" with both of them moving to the music as they carried their legs all the way up to their chests; Buju sang, Beres deejayed, and it was superb.
During the tribute section, Dean Fraser, Lenya Wilks (of Rising Stars fame) Big Youth, U-Roy, Bob Andy, Marcia Griffiths, Freddy McGregor and Banton showed their love, respect and admiration for Hammond. Not often seen on stage, elder statesmen Big Youth, U-Roy and Bob Andy showed off their class and artistry and delivered hits that have stood the test of time.
Marcia Griffiths, always regally attired, outdid even herself on this occasion. She sang audience favourites including Dreamland and I Can Sing, while McGregor offered Push Come To Shove, and Longing To See You as part of his repertoire. The audience showed their appreciation unreservedly and sang with them verse for verse.
Then, at the end of the show, enter the magnificent all-school mass choir which provided the chorus for a single from Beres' soon-to-be-released album. The future musically fused with the present.
Saturday night's fare at the National Indoor Sports Centre was truly not an event, it was A Moment In Time.
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