Chris Brown dazzles on Int'l Night I

By Yasmine Peru

Sunday, July 25, 2010

A dazzling dancing display from US singer Chris Brown at the Catherine Hall venue in Montego Bay had groupies glued to the front of the stage, screaming and tearing out their hair, fervently hoping for the slightest hint of acknowledgement of their presence.

And the heavily-tatooed Chris Brown played them to the hilt --just as he did the entire Catherine Hall, stretching out to touch their clawing hands, but not quite meeting the target, gyrating his ever-so-athletic body, somersaulting, defying gravity, making pulsating pronouncements while grabbing his crotch. And he also did his songs, live and direct but coupled with heavy lip-syncing which he made absolutely no attempt to hide. Brown delivered a package whose entertainment quotient was undeniable, despite being so heavily dance driven.

High on energy and with youth in his favour, the 21-year-old Brown, whose career had taken a battering when his physical abuse of then girlfriend, pop princess Rihanna was made public in 2009, was a dynamo. Armed with his four equally talented male dancers, a drummer and a selector he delivered a tight, well-orchestrated set in which he made sure to incorporate Jamaican culture.

Casually attired in a pair of khaki shorts, open-front shirt covering his merino, a baseball cap with a red bandana handkerchief hanging loosely from his back pocket, Brown launched his set with Wall to Wall, starting off a mad frenzy which crescendoed as he reeled off other biggies from his repertoire including Gimme Dat, Run It, Say Yow, Brown Skin Girl, and With You. His forwards were huge and when he paid tribute to dancehall by performing tunes like Kartel's Clarks and showed his knowlegdge of the lingua and the dance moves he had it totally made with the Jamaican audience.

At the end of his hour-long performance on stage there was an exodus from the mud-splattered venue, on a night which failed to lure the usual Friday night high attendance. No doubt the rain during the day played a role in the low turnout on International Night One, but that dd not stop the artistes from delivering great performances. Even Jah Cure, who came immediately after Chris Brown, gave a performance which was much improved over his recent Reggae Sumfest showings. Jah Cure, who wisely chose the best from his repertoire, and took time to introduce some of his songs, was full of thanks when the audience showed their appreciation. His Call On Me and Unconditional Love inspired and at the end of his performance there was the premiere of his video which was shot on location in Cuba.

Also giving a decent showing on International Night one was the man whose song has been enjoying Billboard presence, Gyptian. Quite comfortable on stage and with his female dancers in tow, Gyptian brought on stage artistes Sugar Roy and Conrad Crystal with whom he has the hit Culture cover Jah Jah See Dem A Come and a nattily attired Nitchie Kutchie, whom he called his "bredren". Of course, he had to do Hod Yuh, but not before he delivered songs like Serious Times from his debut album and made a case for his fans to purchase his new CD. "We have over a million people in Jamaica, so why reggae artistes can't sell a million copies?" he queried. "My new CD is out, please go out and buy it," he said with a brilliant smile. Then he gave what seems to be his signature sound, a guttural "rrrrrr" and held the audience captive as he delivered Hold Yuh.

The females on the line-up, Etana and Queen Ifrica, were not to be outdone. Etana came with a package. Her frisky male and female dancers stayed with her throughout, weaving her set together as she took the audience on a ride with songs such as August Town, Free, Warrior Love, Wrong Address, I Am Not Afraid and Crazy Love in which she acknowledged her husband, Andre, who was watching her in the wings.

Whereas the Strong One was passionate, the Fyah Mumma, Queen Ifrica was cultural and forthright. The empress from Mo Bay entered centrestage with a Lion of Judah chant and quickly moved into such gems as Mi Nah Bleach, Welcome to Montego Bay and Below the Waist.

Among the early performers who delivered well were Canada-based reggae act, Steele, who made his Sumfest debut in fine style and singer Hezron. Rated as Canada's number one reggae singer, Steele has, over the years, collected numerous awards and on Saturday night he showed why he has been deserving of such accolades.

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COMMENTS (2)

neeny tyo
7/27/2010

Sumfest sounds like great music all at one venue but the MUD sounds preeetty bad, there needs to be a solution to it because you will get more people if those conditions are remedied. I have been to Trinidad's carnival just for the music almost every year and there is no mud. One year it rained a beautiful mist it actually felt good due to the heat , but no mud. I don't mind paying to go hear great music anywhere, but I don't want mud. Jay-Z, Rhianna, & Beyonce boycotted BET awards due to Brown.

Deborah Neuman
7/26/2010

Chris Brown really rocked Sumfest. Pity the Sumfest organisers have such little regard for patrons. Walking and standing in mud and more mud made it quite unpleasant. No wonder such a large number of persons (including me) left the minute Chris Brown came off stage. I for one couldn't stand in mud for another band change. So sorry I missed Jah Cure's performance. Not even Usher could lure me back Saturday night.

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Chris Brown dazzles on Int'l Night I