By Chaos, Freelance Writer
Gardener
LAST SUNDAY night's edition of Moonlighting was entitled, appropriately enough 'My Lunar Valentine' given the full moon dominating a sky with a few wispy clouds that were barely noticeable even if Valentine's Day itself was two days before.
MC Paula-Anne Porter got the audience into the spirit of things by asking for and receiving howls - and the occasional bark as well, with men and women present channelling their inner werewolves on more than one occasion.
It was a memorable night, featuring performances from diverse people representing various genres. When The Gleaner arrived at the East Lawn of Devon House, Christine Chin was into a very good rendition of Lauren Wood's Fallen, her voice ringing out clarion clear and sweet into the brightly-lit night sky. The venue was decorated with St. Valentine in mind, with little red hearts dotting the tables, the odd red and white balloons hanging around, and later on, chocolate kisses in little baskets being distributed.
It was a night for relaxation, laughter and good music. Moonlighting is the brain child of Harold Davis, who also does wonders on the keyboard and, with the help of Paula-Anne Porter, kept the night flowing smoothly along, despite, in one memorable instance, a loss of electricity which left Home T stranded momentarily. Long before that however, the fair to middling crowd had been entertained by the likes of Owen 'Blacka' Ellis, Hugh Jay, Angel, Boris Gardener, Benjy Myaz, Marilyn Virgo, cabaret singer Maria Myrie, Clancy Eccles Jr., Wayne McGregor and even a cameo by Keith Lyn, as well as poetry by Duane Francis and 19-year-old Wolmerian Jameel.
The entertainers were backed at different times by Richie Cunningham on congos and drums, Andrew 'Pregs' Thompson on drums, Wayne McGregor on guitar, Harold Davis and Alexander Martin Blanken on keyboards and Dale Brown who came in for his fair share of teasing with regards to a Sunday Gleaner article a week ago, when he was not playing, eyes closed and body swaying.
A running gag throughout the night, started off by Ellis, was the subject of what made for a good school, with Ellis and Davis opting for their alma mater, Excelsior. This took an even more amusing turn later on, when Porter introduced 19-year-old poet Jameel as being from Excelsior, which led to a bit of give and take between her and Davis with regards to how much time he actually did spend in high school. The laughs got louder when Jameel did make it to the stage and said "Just to clear up something, I'm a Wolmerian," prompting Davis to ask "How long have you had that problem?"
The young poet impressed with his poem Still Searching, during what he said was his first performance in such a setting. He had no problem using patois, which was definitely not the norm on the night, but he was a crowd-pleaser with lines such as Jah kno' ah wish dem did sell dem in de supermarket/'Cause we tek me las' and go shopping as he detailed his need for an 'empress'.
The abovementioned 'lights out' occurred when Home T was deep into a choreographed and entertaining rendition of Peter Tosh's version of Chuck Berry's Johnny B. Goode. After a few seconds of stunned silence, Wayne McGregor led the audience in an a capella version of the song before Pregs and Cunningham, taking matters into their own hands since their instruments - the drums and the congos respectively - were the only ones unaffected. The two duelled, Cunningham beating out amazing beats as Pregs went crazy, at times going as far as to stand up on his stool and do any variety of things with his cymbals and skins before collapsing in exhaustion and asking "So whappen, wey di light dey? Yow, we a get tired up ya so," to appreciative applause and laughter.
The problem, a tripped breaker as Davis explained, was eventually rectified and Home T finished an excellent set. Keith Lyn, at the insistence of McGregor and a few young ladies in the audience who would not be denied, put in a cameo performance with a very good cover of Elvis Presley's Release Me.
Prior to that, Wayne McGregor had enthralled, nailing Prince's Purple Rain and Bo Diddly and Eric Clapton's Hoochie Coochie Man to a dwindling audience that was clearing enjoying itself, wrapping a night of good music and good vibes.
