Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
Entertainer Limey Murray, dances with human rights advocate, Mrs. Yvonne McCallah-Sobers, after leading her from the audience on stage at the Calabash International Literary Festival, held at Jakes in Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth, early Saturday morning. - PHOTO BY NOEL THOMPSON
AFTER A QUIET START in the early hours of Sunday morning, the Calabashment concert picked up pace to end with Noddy Virtue on home soil singing Dreams To Remember reggae style to an audience which had dwindled in numbers but still had sufficient mass and energy to call for more. He did not, as he had already opened on a strong note with Rebel In Me and was joined on stage by four of his 'parishoners' for Broken Arrow, done reggae style.
They had demanded more from Tarrus Riley earlier as well, after Barber Chair and Stay With You had hit the spot under the large tents set up at Jake's beside the beach at Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth. "Me a go sing a song fi mi daughter," Riley said, sitting on a stool, strapping on a guitar and cautioning all that "me a prentice" with the instrument. "Easy prento," someone at the front of the audience said and Riley repeated "easy prento" to general amusement.
Before the C-Sharp band set up and as the waiting after 'Girls Behaving Badly', Saturday's last slated poetry reading, went on, Phyllis Yvonne Stine read from her book Loud Thoughts For Quiet Moments. "We are a polyrhythmic people.... taking tears and turning them into calypso rhyme".
Katherine, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar and with a flautist and other guitarist, rocked softly with Pins N Needles and informed "you can live your life like it's just for you/or you can share it". No Ordinary Love preceded the ending lament I'll miss you when I'm gone.
C-Sharp's excellent musicianship and blend as a unit was evident from their slow start, which rose and evolved into reggae rockers as their lead singer hit the stage to urge "arise oh ye children of Zion/war should not be your only solution". A 'wo yoah' call and response preceded the musing "what a day when the table shall turn". There was an extended Marley segment, including Burnin and Lootin, Them Belly Full, Rebel Music and their uptempo interpretation of Johnny Was, then a return to their own material to "let Jah be praised".
And Lymie Murray had the ladies especially squealing in his corner with Only Conversation, restarting on the opening line "do you come here often". After being joined by a swaying older lady on stage, Murray sang "blessed is the child who has his own" and put in a snippet of Practice What You Preach.
