BLAME the low patronage on the fact that he has been on a few shows in and around the Corporate Area in the past fortnight, but nobody told Tarrus Riley there were empty seats inside the Little Theatre. He performed at though it were a full house.

The popular singer was on the final stop of his Jamaican ‘tour’ which took him to Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and Portmore before ending in capital city Kingston on Monday night.

Riley took pains to constantly remind his audience that it wasn’t a stage show, but rather that he was “live in concert”.

This meant that he could be far more interactive, allowing for a much more intimate performance.

From the moment he took to the stage, the 90 minutes were filled with a string of his hits and more.

Riley would drop tracks like Contagious, Wanty Wanty, Cut It Off, Far Away, Going Out and Coming In, Lion Paw, Beware, Back Biter, Want You Back and My Day.

Also thrown in were his interpretations of John Legend’s All of Me and Stay With You, Michael Jackson’s Human Nature and a string of Buju Banton tracks.

Vocally, Riley was not at his best, his voice being a tad raspier than normal, but that did not stop him from giving his all.

He would call on a coterie of his friends to assist with entertaining his audience.

Dean Fraser, Duane Stephens, Junior Demus, Iba Mahr, Chevaughn Clayton and a youthful looking Michigan, of the 1980s duo Michigan and Smiley, would all take turns sharing the stage with Riley.

The ‘tour’ is part of a series of concerts which, as was announced on Monday, promises to take ‘big acts to small venues’ across the island. Riley, backed by the Dean Fraser-led Black Soil band, would wrap up the night with stirring renditions of She’s Royal, Good Girl Gone Bad and One Drop, to much applause from an appreciative audience.