Concert review by Sandie Edwards
The Sounds of Reggae was trumpeted as the first reggae show to be held at the new Barclay Center in Downtown Brooklyn and overall, it was a tight and well put together production. The Jammins Ent. and Biolife collaboration presented a well promoted and well received reggae show that Caribbean patrons could be particularly proud of. The RCS media team took photos of the crowd outside Barclay center and it was a wonder to see. This crowd was not for a basketball game it was for our own.
The opening set with Maxi Priest had some audio problems, and people in the upper gallery did not hear him clearly, but the fans in the lower floors sang along boisterously to ‘Wild World’ and ‘Wanna Get Close To You’. I know there were time constraints for all the artistes, but it was a little disappointing that he did not sing many lovers rocks songs except for
‘Should I’.
Grammy award winner Shaggy came home to Brooklyn where he attended Erasmus High school in Flatbush. He gave a high energy performance and sang all his hits which the crowd loved, He encouraged the crowd to get up and dance and told them Brooklyn parties were not sit down parties. Surprise guest, Brooklyn’s own Rayvon came on stage and then they divided the crowd to see which half of the crowd could scream the loudest! He really got the crowd fired up! The Duo then did the mega hit ‘It Wasn’t Me’. The audience and sang along. Great set!
I believed the headliner of the show was Beres Hammond, and thought he would close the show but he was actually the penultimate act, coming on before Ali Campbell’s UB40 who closed the show. I was disappointed that he did not close the show but as always he gave a great performance. I heard a patron say that Beres can do no wrong, meaning because he has such a huge talent. He is a great lyricist and has such a large catalog, even if he does not sing the songs to the end, fans will understand and continue to support him. By the time he came on the sound was much better. My only criticism of his set was that it was too short and he did not sing enough songs from his new album One Love, One life.
Ali Campbell’s UB40 the British reggae band closed the show, they performed very well, but it must have been disconcerting to see droves of people leave after Beres Hammond completed his set. Their music was tight especially the horn section. They performed many songs including’ The Way You Do The Things You Do’ and ended the concert with their best known song ‘Red Red Wine’! Can you say classic?!
Photos Courtesy of Jammins Entertainment
