Shaggy & Friends thrill for charity

Reviewed by Dominic Bell

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

The third staging of the Shaggy Make A Difference Foundation philanthropic concert series Shaggy & Friends Concert last Saturday on the lawns of Jamaica House.

The concert's opening statement by Shaggy reinforced the purpose of the its staging, which is to raise funds for the Bustamante Hospital for Children. The children at the hospital were treated to the festivities by watching the concert courtesy of live streaming provided by telecommunications giant LIME.

After a stirring performance of the National Anthem by a group of children, the show opened with Shaggy performing his recently revitalised hit single Strength Of A Woman. He then proceeded into hit singles from his extensive discography including Angel with an appearance by Rayvon, Bonafide Girl and Mr Boombastic.

During his set, Shaggy brought out Tarrus Riley, who performed his crowd favourite She's Royal, going on to serve as a co-MC for the show's proceedings, alongside Shaggy, and the later addition of Miss Kitty.

Shaggy would also return later to perform his collaborations with artistes Assassin and Tessanne Chin from his latest release, the Grammy-nominated Summer In Kingston.

A unique aspect of the concert was that each performer had to adhere to the time allocation given and were expected to introduce the act to follow. This facilitated smooth transitions for a majority of the show's duration.

Tarrus Riley was followed by Reggae's youngest prince, Romain Virgo, who had a thunderous opening with Rain Is Falling and executed several other hits from his budding catalogue.

Jamaica's 'Certified Diva' Tami Chynn delivered a solid set. Next in the line-up was her husband Wayne Marshall who was later accompanied by Tifa and Fambo to perform as 'WTF'. Their set included an energetic medley of their solo hits and of course Swaggin.

The first international act to grace the stage was Deniece Williams, who did not disappoint her legion of fans with sultry vocals and Grammy Award-winning tracks. After the first intermission, legendary lovers' rock singer Maxi Priest received and held immense crowd response for each of his timeless tracks performed.

International rapper Eve proved that hip-hop acts can also perform comfortably with live bands as she delivered a credit-worthy hit-laden set of singles such as Who's That Girl, Satisfaction, and Tambourine.

The tone of the show changed at several intervals with conscious interjections from Half Pint, Cocoa Tea, and Junior 'One Blood' Reid to the crowd's liking.

Assassin continued to live up to his reputation as a no-nonsense performer of a workman-like pedigree, and the same could be same for the sets of I-Octane, Mr Vegas and Gyptian.

The patrons of Shaggy & Friends were treated to several surprises, which started with what seemed to be a rare local solo set by Stephen Marley just before Damian Marley's appearance stirred onlookers into mass hysteria.

Another surprise was living legend Beres Hammond, who executed several of his myriad hits and gained the largest crowd response for the night, solidifying his golden stature within the Jamaican music landscape.

Notorious haphazard performer of recent times, Lauryn Hill, unfortunately continued this trend. After a lengthy wait for her to enter the stage and begin her set, patrons were confused from the onset, with her elongated psychedelic rock version of The Fugees rendition of Roberta Flack's Killing Me Softly.

Lauryn Hill's performance was marred with an uncanny demeanour, eerie gesticulation and she vocalised dissatisfaction with technical support for her band, which at times manifested into her abruptly stopping her performance to quarrel with the event staff.

Lauryn Hill's set included selections from her iconic Miseducation of Lauryn Hill such as Everything is Everything, Ex-Factor, Zion, and excerpts of Bob Marley and Fugees selections.

Lauryn Hill closed the show with her cult classic Doo Wop (That Thing), and left her most loyal, tolerant, and patient of fans remaining satisfied.

Overall, those who attended Shaggy and Friends could not have felt disappointed as each gave a noble contribution to a more than worthy cause, and for their efforts they were treated to a concert of the highest standard.

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Shaggy & Friends thrill for charity