Highest quality at Vintage Reggae show

THE THOUSANDS of vintage reggae fans who made their way to the Kensington Oval on Friday night did not leave disappointed.

The annual Digicel Vintage Reggae Show and Dance continues to draw large diverse crowds, with a line-up which not only looked refreshingly good on paper, but took music lovers into a time tunnel of decades upon decades of good quality music from artistes of regional and international acclaim. 

 

This year, the stage was noticeably closer to the Worrell, Weekes & Walcott stand, giving a more intimate setting, for those who opted to watch the show from the grounds or in the stands. 

 

Local artistes Super Rubien and John King ably opened up the live performances on the night. They were followed by the effervescent Carlene Davis who seemingly found the fountain of youth, thrilling her audience with her many reggae and gospel hits including Going Down to Paradise, the Way Old Friends Do and Days of Elijah to name a few. The artist who turned her life over to God after a battle with cancer, noticeably changed her mega-hit Stealing Love on the Side to Praising God all the Time, which was equally well received by the large crowd.

 

She was followed by the inimitable Ernie Smith at 11:45 pm, who moved the audience with his deep baritone voice with hits like, Pitta Patta, Bend Down, Duppy Gun Man, Life is Just for a Living and the first song which he told the audience he recorded, Tears on my Pillow, back in 1967. Smith, who might affected by hit by the heat of the night, appeared to be winded at times, taking long swigs of water intermittently during his set which ended at 12:25.

 

Ken Boothe, the consummate performer who has gained international acclaim for his cross-over hits, captivated his fans with his fancy foot-work and high-energy performance during his half an hour set bringing songs like the Train is Coming and When I fall in Love.He also performed his mega-hit Everything I Own which reached number one on the UK singles charts in 1974. He told the audience that the songs of the 60s were songs " for all times" unlike the music that is being produced today.

 

The crowd was unaware that the next on stage would send the entire Oval into an uproar. Lil Rick and DJ Frog brought the house down with hit after hit of music that would feature Buju Banton, Jimmy Cliff, Beres Hammond, R Kelly, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye to name a few. The experienced DJ even introduced  a segment called "shop lime music" which included the popular Your Man by Josh Turner. He also acknowledged Carlene's remix of her song Stealing Love, but played the original version to the delight of the audience.

 

This 20 minute musical high led to the next performer Courtney Melody who performed from his arsenal of hits including Modern Girl, My Lady, Ninja Mi Ninja. He paved the way for Half Pint who made it to the stage at 2:00 am., performing an amazing set including Mr. Landlord, Hold On, Crazy Girl, Political Fiction, Substitute Lover and Just Be Good to Me.

 

The final performer of the night was smooth-sounding Wayne Wonder who hit the stage just around 2:25 am singing his hits Searching, I Don't Know Why, Joyride, Slowly But Surely, Saddest Day of My Life to name a few, before the show drew to a close just around 3 am. The curtain will come down on the Digicel Barbados Reggae Festival today, with the popular Reggae on the Hill, which is expected to draw thousands of dance hall and reggae fans to Farley Hill in St. Peter. (JH)