By Tanya Batson, Staff Reporter
Abijah
ABIJAH'S PERFORMANCE could be used as the hallmark for the New Kingston Independence Street Jam. It was a combination of talent, energy and pure showmanship.
His performance greatly moved the audience and he seemed to be moved to tears by their response.
As the night wore on, the air over Knutsford Boulevard in New Kingston grew increasingly still. What wind was there was could barely be felt in the midst of the tightly packed crowd. So far however, no violence had broken out and people seemed simply intent upon having a good time. They were partying in the streets for free and the talent presented had so far been quite good.
Abijah's appearance on the stage was much anticipated. When Paula-Ann Porter hinted at his arrival, shouts of his name ricocheted around the streets. He therefore arrived on the stage with a flourish, starting his performance with Zion.
Having come more into his own over the past year, his performance was filled with more of his own work. Along with Zion, Abijah also performed Live, which is becoming one of his staples.
Of course, he had to add some Marley to his mix and gave his standard riveting rendition of War. Abijah took the performance of this song to another level, however, when he smoothly moved into No More Trouble.
Although his performance of Marley's hits are excellent and he seems to be sounding more like the legend with each performance, what the crowd wanted to hear was his own mystical creation, Revelation.
As usual, his performance of his hit, his signature piece, was flawless. Injected with energy and feeling, he seemed to really get to the audience, even though the stage did not allow him to get close to them, which he seems to usually prefer. As he neared to the final "Revelations" of the song and the momentum slowed he paused for close to a minute -and yet the audience did not seem to get restless.
As Abijah stood slumped over one of the speakers they awaited for his next move, his next sound. With a swipe at his face, at what could be tears, he brought the song to a low, satisfying end.
Then he gave the audience even more. He once again kicked up the energy level by performing Jimmy Cliff's Harder They Come.
His had been a hard-hitting performance.
Though on a different level, Peter Lloyd also gave a great performance. Having a healthy cabaret career under his belt, he delved into some great hits to get the audience's attention. He started out with Tickle Me Once Girl, but never stayed on any song for more than a few lines. Soon he had moved through Love and Hate and How Can We Go On. His lively performance was tempered by a lot of jumping about and some well placed 'wines' (the non-alcoholic yet potent variety).
By the time he paused to yell 'Jah' in the midst of his performance, the audience belonged to him and eagerly responded with 'Rastafari'. In fact, Lloyd seemed rather intent upon the audience seeing him as Rasta, because each time he made Rastafari references he tugged at his locks.
Nonetheless, his performance was not on the spiritual plane. As he moved into Ready for Love, he pulled Paula-Ann Porter to the stage to be used as a live prop. In keeping with his highly energetic performance, while singing Concrete Jungle Peter Lloyd leapt from the stage onto some nearby speakers (evidently he had not heard of the recent incident with another signer at Sumfest) to get closer to the audience. He ended his very lively set there, not risking the return journey.
