By Tamara King, Freelance Writer 
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Hammond, Griffiths and Buju
QUALITY FROM beginning to end was the highlight of the well-produced Double Trouble show, held at the Alpart Sports Club in St. Elizabeth on Saturday.
Everything spelled class and the good vibes flowed in ample amounts.
Although male performers dominated the line-up, it was clear that the females were not going to be sidelined. From the Harmony House Sisters, who were among the opening acts, to the well-respected and recognised stalwart Marcia Griffiths, the women added a soft touch.
From the moment Marcia Griffiths strolled on-stage in an elegant and colourful outfit, the audience erupted into loud applause. She appeared unruffled and in control as she took her audience through her string of hits. Opening with I Shall Sing, then segueing into the line I wanna hold you once more, her fans quickly warmed to her as she took them from the relaxing comfort of their seats to standing appreciation of her music. Dreamland, with its conscious lyrics, diverted from the theme of love and the audience showed its appreciation by dancing and whistling. It was also a case of in with the new, as Ms. Griffiths gave the audience a sample of her new release, written by Freddie McGreggor.
Woman and a tiny touch of Oh Mama were served up. "I want to be with you everywhere," Ms. Griffiths sang and some persons in the crowd picked up on the concept, serenading each other. The versatile entertainer also breathed life into what was only a title - House to House - as she went from songs from the Harmony House label, with Love is Real, to Penthouse, with Electric Boogie. She teamed up with ARP's Da'Ville and the two rendered a beautiful cover of Aaron Neville and Linda Rondstat's All My Life. The combination elicited loud cheers and vigorous dancing from an audience that was just as versatile as the performer herself and composed of all age groups.
At the mention of Electric Boogie, screams of approval spewed forth, but she opted to do Love is Real instead and, at its completion, exited the stage. Ms. Griffiths was called back for a deserved encore and the audience insisted on hearing Electric Boogie, but she told them that they would have to be prepared to 'jam it', since she had not rehearsed that song. This proved not to be a difficult compromise, as many fans quickly joined her on-stage and danced up a storm to the electrifying lyrics.
There was a just a minute stir in the audience and emcee Francois St. Juste must have read their minds. They wanted to know how the Tyson-Lewis fight ended. Apparently many of them got their wish, judging from the loud cheers when it was announced that Lennox Lewis had won.
At approximately 11:30 p.m. the ladies' favourite, Maxi Priest, took to the stage. He received excellent backing from the band and, with lots of energy and a unique style of performing, was a definite crowd pleaser. Man With The Fun got good support from the audience. The male section of the audience preferred to sit, while the ladies quickly lost themselves in song, crooning along note for note as they totally enjoyed Maxi Priest's performance.
Temptress was performed with much gusto and the audience went wild. Say A Little Prayer and the monster hit Wild World sent the audience into overdrive, as things started to heat up.
Maxi Priest only got better. He became immersed in his performance, with idiosyncratic dancing and head movements and his face contorted. The audience knew he was giving it his all and loved him for it. Say A Prayer For The World won over the audience completely.
Just A Little Bit Longer got the support of the majority of the audience, as they got to their feet. "There is a space in my heart waiting for you," he sang, dedicating the new song to all the beautiful ladies. They received it with screams. However, it was not only the females who were having a good night, as every now and then a distinctive male voice would shout "Gwaan Maxi!" Some Guys Have All The Luck was a winner. There were screams all round as Maxi hit and held a particularly high note, much to the audience's delight. He also teamed up with Red Foxx for a number of songs. The DJ filled in for Shaggy on That Girl and for Shabba Ranks on House Call.
I Just Wanna Be Close To You was excellent, both singer and audience enjoying themselves immensely. When MC Ritchie B ask the crowd how they scored Maxi's performance, the answer was 100 per cent - and some generous markers even gave 110 per cent.
If Maxi was for the ladies, the men received a wonderful treat from some bikini-clad females who are vying for the Miss Middlesex crown. As the girls strolled across the stage, the fun and excitement heightened and barks of "ruff ruff" went up.
With all the fun and excitement which had been previously generated, things only got better when Beres Hammond took to the stage. Save for a handful of fans, the entire audience vacated their seats and crowded in front of the stage.
Mr. Hammond did disappoint, as he performed a steady stream of hits to an appreciative audience, which seemed hungry for his music. With a repertoire that seemed endless, he took them to musical ecstasy. What Can You Do To Stop A Man From Trying and What One Dance Can Do gave the venue a dancehall feel; Step Aside and Tempted To Touch set him aside as the consummate performer. Beres Hammond showed that he was in his element as he welcomed his audience to what he termed a 'love affair'.
Double Trouble was met with loud screams, as was Putting Up A Resistance, the audience singing along lustily word for word.
"Love means never to say that you are sorry," Mr. Hammond sang, and the audience joined in to form a mass choir as admirers, overcome with joy, practically climbed the stairs to touch their hero. One fan asked for his shirt. Sweet Lies and other hits raised the bar on his performance and Rock Away went a step further, as the audience could not contain themselves. One obviously hysterical man shouted: "Yu too good to -.!"
Nuh Shot Nah Bus continued in the trend of its predecessors and had the audience in the throes of musical enjoyment. After Mr. Hammond returned for an encore, he invited Marcia Griffiths back on-stage and they made an excellent team as they serenaded each other.
A full report on show closer Buju Banton's performance will appear tomorrow.
