Mile High gave an encore performance
published: Tuesday | October 14, 2003

By Chaos, Freelance Writer

Tessann Chin lead singer of Mile High.

TESSANNE CHIN has a voice which can reduce buildings to rubble and take the soul to heights previously undreamed of. It was a voice she used to tremendous effect last Saturday night in Havendale, St. Andrew at an event to celebrate the opening of a new studio by her father, Richard Chin.

She was acting in her capacity as the new - well, relatively - lead singer of the Jamaican alternative/reggae/rock band Mile High and she rocked as did the rest of the band, to put it mildly. Andrew 'Preggs' Thompson could hardly be seen behind his drums, Paul Chang sweat as he laid down fabulous riffs on the guitar and Jason Morris, eyes often closed and in a sheer, close-fitting black shirt pinned it all down on the bass guitar.

His outfit was echoed by Tessanne's, who belly-baring blouse was also transparent revealing a black bra, as she sang. Black Books (When I'm With You, Evanescence's Bring Me To Life and Sunset started off their set in front of a small, invitation-only crowd.

WICKED GUITAR

For Keeps preceded R U Gonna Love Me as, under a mirror ball that spun slowly from the ceiling, Tessanne put heart, soul and voice into the song over some sultry bass. Her long hair flew almost in time to Chang's wicked guitar, the song starting out slowly and then flying into hyperdrive, Preggs going cuckoo on the drums all the while.

"'Cause we jus' couldn't name it," Tessanne explained with a laugh, followed as she sang and they played for, among others, her adoring mother, father and sister. The song is a wonderful cornucopia of bass and guitar riffs over amazing drums, which, when her voice is thrown into the mix, threaten to mug you with its sheer, joyful force. A few belly-dancing moves were also thrown in for an appreciative audience.

What came next was a fascinating and pleasant surprise. "We're a reggae/rock band, we like to bring the two together, to fuse the two together," Tessanne explained. A fantastic, revved up and absolutely rocking version of Bob Marley's Could You Be Loved saw Tessanne and company using their various instruments like weapons of mass destruction in a performance that would have done the reggae legend proud. Think of it as having been done by The Rolling Stones or Bob Marley and you will have a mild idea of how good it was. What made it even more interesting was the fact that they only came up with the idea and rehearsed the song in four hours, according to the band's manager, Ian Gibson.That should have been the closing number but an encore was of course demanded and given. An original, written by Morris called Soothsayer was the result and Tessanne, every inch the diva, brought that section of the night's entertainment to a close in fine style, her voice soaring, screaming, stunning into the cool night air.