Ken Boothe brought back memories of the golden days - Michael SloleyThe 2001 Labour Day Concert was a juxtaposition between good performances from the seven billed artistes and little crowd support.
The event was held free of cost last Wednesday at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre, Kingston.
Kicking off promptly at 7:30pm under a black, starless sky, the event lacked any glitz or quality in production. The drab set design, or lack of, only added to the gloom, but was soon brightened by the effervesence of emcee, Fae Ellington.
The evening saw an audience support of bourgeoisie and grass-root; young and old, united by their appreciation of the on-stage performances.
The older pop trio, Home T gave a classy, vintage performance, complete with the appropriate skanking for songs like Which One a Dem She Love and Don't Throw It All Away. In what is a part of their comeback after a professional leave of absence, they combined strong, melodic tenor and soon held a captive audience with Kenny Lattimore For You.
The enormously talented Unique Vision, made up of mainly visually impaired members gave a usual good set. Led by the newest member, Andrew Cassanova (sighted) who also provided backing, the group soon changed the grounds to a dancehall type feel with their versions of By His Deeds, God is Standing By and It Wasn't Me. It was the rendition of 'Reasons'. However that understandably brought forth the most response from the audience. When Cassanova hit the falsetto that trademarks the Earth, Wind and Fire hit, the crowd went wild.
Leroy Sibbles combined covers and originals for his performance. He moved from Rock With Me Tonight and Why Did You Leave Me to Cry in his set, then included a gig on a guitar to get the biggest response from the audience.
Vintage crooner, Ken Boothe also pleased the audience. Puppet On a String, Everything I Own, The Train is Coming and other hits breathed with new life. The singer also delivered several other choice numbers from his vast repertoire to close the show.
Commendable performances also came from Word! and Robert and Jenieve.
A salute to the 60th anniversary of the Labour Movement was also done where the older principal involved were highlighted. Hugh Shearer got a standing ovation, prompted by Fae Ellington, for his contribution to the movement.
