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Rain couldn't dampen Explosion RAIN delayed the start by nearly two hours and dampened star performer Ernie Smith's set twice. However, St. Bess Explosion went off with a bang at the Alpart Sports Club, Nain, on Saturday night. The show was the first staging of the hit Heineken Startime series in St. Elizabeth. When Ernie Smith left the stage at 12:30 a.m., the crowd demanded more and got it, MC Richie B heeding their call. They had virtually formed a huge backing choir, Ernie delivered One Dream, Pitta Patta, Duppy Or A Gunman, Jesus Come For All, The Power and the Glory and Life is Just for Living. Showing class and charisma, Ernie not only hit them with music and moved them with song, but also literally touched them with his presence as he accepted the handshakes of the closest fans. Relative newcomer VC had a huge St. Bess debut, By His Deeds once again proving to be as huge a hit live as it has been on radio and the charts. Ken Boothe gave a performance as impressive as his multi-coloured jacket. When he sang "you got to walk, you got to free" the crowd sang along with him - as they did when he crooned "you say you never leave me again, Baby I am not joking ." The hit Everything I Own was a gem in his musical crown. George Nooks brought back memories of Dennis Brown with some of the late great's hits and was generally well received. The job of waking up the crowd after the 30-minute intermission went to Marcia Griffiths. She re-energised them with Dreamland, Fire Burning and Stepping Out Of Babylon, proving once again that she is the queen. The honour of closing the St. Bess Explosion went to John Holt. He unleashed his 1,000 volts, saving a few for his encores. Keith Brown of MKB thanked the people for their excellent behaviour and for supporting the show. He also announced that the next Heineken Startime will be on November 3rd at the Mas Camp Village in St. Andrew. A patron was overheard saying "a only Heineken Startime could draw this amount of people to Alpart Sports Club".
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