– though show was overly long
The night was as Morgan Heritage proclaimed, “not a dancehall show but a reggae concert” essentially devoid of club revelry and suggestive music but big on positive vibes and soft, thought-provoking tunes.
It evoked the kind of mood that stealthily built to a climax offering refreshing, uplifting sounds but many did not linger until Morgan Heritage peaked on Friday night last at Digicel’s Summer Scorcher with its current reggae anthem, “Nothing to Smile About”; people just up and left.
There was an irksome holdup before the Jamaican group actually took to the stage –around an hour and fifteen minutes — and a sometimes-inaudible sound system which initially interrupted Natural Black’s performance.
But Morgan Heritage was worth the wait even if it meant just listening to a few of its powerful, inspiring reggae tunes. Though it was a rapid change of pace from the high-energy Carifesta super concerts that swept the country some two weeks ago it was certainly welcome.
Swaying to the sounds of one of their popular tunes from the nineties, “Don’t’ Haffi be Dread”, Morgan Heritage burst onto the stage some time close to 2 am on Saturday spreading reggae vibes before an adulating audience.
Dreadlocks flying in the air, microphones swinging in rhythmic style with the music and heads bobbing up and down, the Jamaicans kicked off their act on a high note. The vibes were floating all over the stadium as they belted out one tune after another from their extensive repertoire.
Nothing was bigger than, “Down By the River”, which they fed to the crowd in three satisfying doses and still, people wanted more of it. The familiar lyrics and cool vibrations of the tune struck a note with the crowd.
As Morgan Heritage performed it over and over a feverish energy came from the masses. Some fans so caught up in the moment bounced around the stadium hitting persons in the process but blissfully unaware.
One dreadlocked guy noticeably stood out among the Morgan Heritage crazed followers; jumping around the stadium as if bitten by a bee, and he kept it going all night.
Morgan Heritage was a hit even though some people obviously were now getting acquainted with the group. There were times whenever the group performed a new tune someone would say, “I didn’t know that is their song”.
Interestingly enough, the group of four brothers and one sister has been a staple in Jamaican entertainment for more than a decade now and has tremendous international appeal. What is most affecting about Morgan Heritage’s music are the deep questions the songs pose and the gripping, analytical way in which they examine life.
Throughout the night they fed the Guyanese crowd hits such as, “Leave the Young Girls”, “What We Need is Love”, “Jah Seed”, “Faithful” and “Mission in Progress” among a host of others.
In keeping with all reggae fests in these parts the ganja-smoking crowd showed up and had quite the night as they burned ‘the herb’ for Morgan Heritage and Natural Black, but more so the former. It is unclear whether the group performed the piece, “Plant Up The Herbs” because the poor sound rendered it inaudible at times but those folks lighting up must have been inspired to do so nonetheless.
Prior to Morgan Heritage’s appearance, Natural Black, who is more Jamaican than Guyanese now as far as his diction goes, performed in high-energy style before his home crowd. He brought his wild antics and infectious dance moves, dishing out one conscious hit after the next.
Early in the act, the sound system failed Natural Black but he vented his frustrations then all was well again. He then had the crowd in the palm of his hand feeding them, “Nice It Nice”, “Far From Reality”, “Life Be the Same Way” and “Think Big” among several others. His biggest tune for the night was the popular “Gideon”.
Something about this particular song got the crowd up and kicking their feet out as he gave the instruction to, “Kick them with the Gideon boot”. It was a crazy, explosive moment in his performance.
Though he has songs that could headline any local reggae show, Natural Black only dished out a few of them and left the stage after about 45 minutes. What followed was a lengthy gap inadequately filled by a deejay.
By the time Morgan Heritage was ready to perform, a considerable number of persons had left perhaps tested just a bit too much by the wait and the deejay.
Digicel had promised to get things started on time and it seemed to have stuck with the plan up until Natural Black exited the stage. There are reports that the sound system stalled Morgan Heritage but it seemed to work just fine for the deejay. Whatever it was, it dampened an otherwise good show.
