If you build it, they will come. Two of the region’s biggest names in music, Rupee and Mr. Vegas, combined to create a spectacular concert event that attracted thousands to the Guyana National Stadium at Providence, East Bank Demerara.
After a lacklustre start to the CARIFESTA celebrations, Saturday night’s “super” concert by Banks DIH was just that – exactly the shot in the arm desperately needed to recapture the people’s imagination. All night long the roads were crowded with an endless cavalcade of cars heading to and from the stadium, which was overrun by a capacity crowd that feted until the wee small hours of the morning.
The concert was a reverential nod to the past and made a brazen come on to the future. The night belonged to the Bajan soca sensation Rupee and the Jamaican dancehall powerhouse Mr. Vegas, who put on stellar performances worthy of the top billing they received. There can be no doubt about it: Rupee is a bona fide pop star; Mr. Vegas, meanwhile, is undisputedly dancehall’s man-of-the-moment.
They were two very different artists, representing two very distinct genres of Caribbean music. The contrast was sharp. At the same time, each was a consummate showman who appeared to be at the peak of his powers. They took command of the stage and transfixed an adoring audience. The other acts were also in top form, including Barbadian crooner Biggie Irie as well as Dave Martins, First Born, and rising star Mark Batson who led a talented collection of local performers who did not allow themselves to be outdone.
Martins, in particular, was distinct for managing to transcend the age gap, finding fans both young and old.
Biggie Irie, a dapper mountain of a man, is for all intents and purposes a real live singer. His moniker is right on the mark, given the towering presence and the mellow disposition. The winner of last year’s International Groovy Soca Monarch, his carnival hit, “Nah Going Home,” has quickly grown into a staple on the party circuit. He didn’t move a lot on stage, but when he did it he roused the approving crowd. Unlike his cohorts, Biggie Irie did not have a large repertoire of popular songs to mine, but he kept the crowd lively and interested with a couple of popular covers. You might say he is a victim of the song’s immense success, having failed to produce anything that comes near to matching its popularity. But it is not for a want of trying and his new single, the infectious ‘Big Girls,’ was met with a warm response. “Big girls need love too,” he playfully proclaimed, before breaking into a dance. It was a promising prelude to the main event.
Rupee did not have to worry about songs. He had a reputation to uphold. Up until very recently, he was a fixture on the Mash calendar, his Insomnia shows having become legendary for his high energy performances. On his biggest stage here thus far, he did not disappoint. His almost hour-long set was a relentlessly exuberant demonstration of pure musicianship. More than any other, his performance straddled the genres, fusing soca with rock as well as hip-hop to showcase the diversity of the region’s music and its musicians.
He held court on the stage, rousing the audience with an assortment of his hits, including “Jump,” “Insomnia,” “Tempted to Touch,” and “What happens in de party.”
He has always been a playful performer, but is also very responsible, and the concert was no different as he continually encouraged peace, while reminding the audience to give thanks to God. He interjected a solemn note into his extended version of “You Never Know,” expressing his sympathy to the country for the series of the shocking murders that rocked the nation at the start of the year.
Mr. Vegas is also showman, albeit one cut from a whole different cloth. By his raucous standards, Rupee was almost tame. He began his set smartly dressed like a professional; by the end of the night he was bare-chested. Just the sort of thing you expect from a man who identified himself as a sing-jay, easily navigating between reggae and dancehall.
Vegas began with a rapid medley of his most popular songs, performing in the clipped in tradition of his dee-jay beginnings. He ran through a list of his hits, including “Nike Air”, “Everywhere I Go,” “She’s A Ho,” “Pull Up,” “Tek Wey Yuhself,” “Nuh Friend From Dem,” “Hot Wuk” and many more.
He was intense, almost barely able to control his energy as fired up the huge crowd into the early morning.
Meanwhile, the sheer numbers who turned up for the concert created a transportation nightmare. Although the police maintained a healthy presence along the roadway, there was nothing they could do but watch as hundreds of vehicles crowded the road, literally inching along to their respective destinations. Clearly exhausted people lingered at the side of the road, while others simply decided to sit along the pavement and wait out the confusion. In the end, some hapless concert goers ended up having to walk from the stadium to the city in order to get transportation home.
