Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
The C Sharp band elicited near pandemonium or something like it at the Edna Manley College fund-raising concert, held at the School of Music Auditorium, Arthur Wint Drive on Friday. - WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
C SHARP unleashed pandemonium or at least some ecstatic derivative of it in the auditorium at the School of Music at the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts on Friday night.
The band was the closing act of a popular music concert that was a fundraising initiative for the school, a part of three concerts held from Thursday to Sunday. With students and past students of the School of Music, the concert showed the skills of the next generation of musicians and vocalists, some like C Sharp, who are already carving their niche.
SENSE OF FAMILIARITY
It was a school performance and there was a tangible sense of familiarity between the audience and performers, who sometimes interchanged as performers made their way into the audience after their set. The sense of familiarity was highlighted as members of the audience called to band members, who often could not help giving in to a smile.
The seats in the auditorium were half empty as many of the patrons opted to stand at the back of the room where they could better show their appreciation for the performances. Appreciation ranged from mock runs at the stage, lit cellular phones, screams and when the appreciation raged really high, chairs were hoisted into the air.
GUEST APPEARANCE
C Sharp's performance began with a guest appearance by Michael Harris whose set in-cluded a wonderful rendition of Cold Play's Fix You. At the end of the performance, one young man in the audience declared, "Wow!" paused momentarily then added, "Lovely".
Harris' performance ended with his awesome original piece Voices. At its start it seemed the song had touched on a religious spark as in her excitement one young woman proceeded to 'turn her roll'. The piece was played heavily with East Indian rhythms and was miles beyond ordinary. C Sharp also played Step Aside Now, Who the Cap Fits and some of their original pieces, including the title track of their album What A Day.
Other performers of the night included Mackie, Brian, Jah Phil, and Enforce.
