Beres Hammond thrills the crowd at 'Dance All Rock', held at the Alpart Sports Complex, St. Elizabeth. - Carlington Wilmot /Freelance Photographer DESPITE ADMIRABLE performances by several artistes, 'Dance All Rock' on Saturday night was stolen by a man who it seems has never flopped on a show.
The silky-smooth Beres Hammond was the culprit. With his renowned laid-back style, he changed the mood inside the Alpart Sports Complex, Nain, St. Elizabeth. Not to take away from the performances of other artistes, but Hammond effortlessly evoked from the crowd the most ecstatic screams, whistles and horn blowing from the second he graced the stage.
Simply yet dapperly dressed in a black cap, white long-sleeved silk shirt, a pair of blue jeans and black shoes, Hammond was the definition of what 'having a crowd eat out of your hands' means. More fittingly to describe it, one could say the crowd ate right out of his mouth. He fed a hungry audience a steady and pacy diet of his best hits through the decades.
Hammond was accompanied by the Harmony House Band and the Harmony House Singers. On Saturday night these names fit perfectly, as every note he hit blended with the band and with the singers. Touching tunes like Step Aside Now, Standing In My Way, and She Loves Me Now, the nostalgia pulled many couples closer together, while others locked lips to the melodies.
This mood inside was a stark contrast to the misery that some patrons went through to get inside the venue. Traffic backed up on both sides of the main road to form miserable bundles of excited and impatient drivers.
Personnel at the entrance gate were at their wits' end as they tried to let vehicles enter in an orderly manner and to be searched by the police. Everyone tried to get in at once, hitting each others' bumpers, scraping fenders and barely missing pedestrians in the process.
NOTABLES
Once inside though, spacious landspace on which to park began the relaxation of the mind and prepared one for the show which saw performances from several reggae notables in their own right.
There were performances by Nesbeth and Flawless from Shocking Vibes, Junior Kelly, Germany's dancehall don 'Gentleman', Warrior King, Anthony Cruz, Richie Spice, Chuck Fender, Predator, Ginger of Harmony House, Damion and Steven Marley, Anthony B, Coco Tea, and a fiery ending to the show by 'The Prophet' Capleton.
CéCile, Tanya Stephens, Wayne Marshall, and show organiser, Barrington Levy, did not perform, but the patrons' disappointment and anger fell mostly on Levy. By the admission of several patrons after the show, they had wanted to see him in action on the stage.
That aside, the show scored well for the use of space, artiste selection, and security, but fell down on the four band changes/adjustments which caused delays for patrons. Sound systems Black Kat, Love Systems, and Lipstick juggled tunes during these breaks but several patrons were still impatient.
The more vocal ones used expletives freely to curse the promoters, sponsors, and everything connected to the show. When the music started again however they seemed fine.
As dawn approached the show ended, and the spacious exit became a cramped bottle neck similar to the entrance at the start as everyone tried to leave at the same time.
