After weeks of boastful talk and much pump and hype, the highly anticipated Inferno Concert held last Saturday was not even close to being labelled the ‘hottest concert of the year,’ as there was a lack of exhilarating local performances and other ingredients necessary to pull off a good show.
And although there were obviously some loose strings to be tied up in the performances of some of the international artistes, it was Munga Honourable and the classy Cham who saved the show from certain disaster. They rocked the last few hours so hard that those who hadn’t broken a sweat with the earlier, somewhat lacklustre performances were drenched in their own liquid by the time they left.
Big grins were evident as patrons left feeling a sense of satisfaction that the $2,700 they forked out on tickets and the vast amounts they invested in looking their best were well spent, thanks to the energetic performances of those two Jamaican artistes.
Another negative for the promoters was the stage set-up, which was very poor in comparison with that of the Guyana Music Festival.
The four international artists – Brick and Lace, Munga Honourable, Cham and Mims were forced to perform on a stage covered with tents and poorly decorated. But we must add that poor stage decoration is not something new here. As if that was not enough, the musical equipment was set on a huge unsightly wooden table at the back, and numerous men – all of whom were supposedly DJ’s – crowded that area for most of the show.
Many young and old, crowded the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCC) ground for the show which did not get started until around 9.30, and those who just wanted to see the international artistes were disappointed when they turned up after 10 pm to find that the locals were still on stage.
It all started with a performance from Typheon followed by Fojo, both of whom clearly lacked crowd appeal. Many persons were not even paying attention to them and were instead hustling to get their photos taken, crowding the bars or catching up with friends. Malo was next and he managed to stir up some crowd interest with his soca rhythms which were complemented by dancers.
Gialiani, a hip-hop singer, dressed in big pants and a hot coloured green jacket attempted to create a wave in the crowd, but unfortunately did not garner much support. Sections of the crowd could be heard complaining as they anticipated the performance of the first international artist.
Mims opened that segment of the show, but was at a disadvantage. Many did not know most of his hip-hop tunes, but they nevertheless bounced to the rhythms. His popular songs, This is why I’m Hot and Like This got the recognition they deserved, with those in the crowd singing the lyrics comfortably.
Then the sisters, Brick and Lace – the newest female singers to hit the entertainment scene – came on stage dressed in white tops and black short pants combinations, but did not deliver as expected.
Although relatively new, two of their songs are very popular here, and with the help of the show’s promoter – Wildfire productions – Guyanese were exposed to much more in the weeks leading up to the event.
The sisters attempted to get the crowd in the mood, but for some reason Brick did not seem as energized as she seemed in the videos. Nevertheless, their first performance here was well appreciated and there is the hope that this will not be the last time they will be performing on these shores.
It was then time for the energetic, dreadlocked Jamaican artiste, Munga Honourable, who during his hour-long performance was totally hyper.
This mood was shifted to the patrons when he bellowed tunes such as Wine pon it (talk to me), Bad from me born and Flipping Rhymes.
Dance moves were too much to mention, as the crowd gyrated obviously enjoying themselves. However, after about half an hour many seemed burnt out and were becoming restless, and several in the crowd were heard shouting for him to get off of the stage.
When he was finally done and it was announced that the ever popular Cham would be coming on stage, the ground erupted into a thunderous roar.
Cham who has been around since the mid 1990s, representing the best cutting edge dancehall reggae, was the feature of the show.
Testimony to his wide reach as an artiste was the fact that the audience was capable of singing nearly every song he performed such as Many Many, Boom Tune, Man & Man and the very popular Vitamin S.
Every release by Cham brings with it a new sound, new slang and up-to-the-minute ghetto news reports, and this was clearly evident as he sang.
With his athletic good looks, his booming voice and a catalogue of hits that won’t quit, Cham has managed to stay ahead of the times with his music, and the controversial ones are much loved by all.
Rain threatened to end his performance last Saturday night with many scampering to the stands for cover. Within five minutes though, the ground was packed again with excited and energized fans.
Included in the medley of songs was the remix of This is why I am hot featuring Mims, and given all his material and how good it is, every song had the same effect on the crowd except for this one and the Real Ghetto Story. The crowd erupted into a flurry as they were being sung.
The majority of the crowd waited until his performance had ended before they exited the ground.
Like Buju Banton both Cham and Munga Honourable have made their feelings about members of the gay community known. On Saturday night they could be heard repeating the words – “Bun all batty man” during their performances, much to the enjoyment of the huge crowd.
Though the event was not as successful as it was made out to be, hats must go off to Wildfire Productions for their efforts at promoting their first concert of this magnitude. The one-year-old company which has been gaining popularity over the last few months kept their word about having tight security.
Police ranks were everywhere and there were no major disruptions among the crowd during the concert.
(zoisa_f@yahoo.com)
