Home  Entertainment ICM Fest good show and no-show
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ICM Fest good show and no-show |
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Written by Sonia Morgan
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Sunday, 23 November 2008 |
Hooded jackets, leather jackets and boots aren’t the usual attire for a party by the beach, but for the patrons who took the long trek to Virginia Key Beach Park in Miami for the ICM Fest it was the best way to keep warm.
With temperatures dipping to a low of about 55 degrees, the entertainers for the night had the job of keeping the crowd warm by heating up the stage.
The National Weekly arrived just in time to catch the powerful voice and vibe of the petite warrior Queen Ifrica, who lashed the crowd into a frenzy with her socially conscious lyrics and DJ prowess. The Queen ruled the stage, and she trod barefooted in khaki pants, and a militant black shirt over her tank top and matching head wrap. Drawing for the tune Nuh Rub, she assured the crowd that beauty went beyond skin color. She tackled the surge of crime against women and children in Jamaica and urged women to keep the men in the bedroom so they don’t make trouble in the streets.
It wasn’t long before she launched into her first big hit, Below The Waist, after singing about Randy and for the finale, she sang the very appropriate mega hit, Daddy.
Getting on to a warm stage, Tony Rebel launched into the unofficial ‘Jamaica National Anthem’ Sweet Jamaica, then freestyled a tune about Bush and Obama to which the crowd railed. In tribute to the late Garnet Silk, Rebel sang Splashing Dashing much to the crowd’s delight, then launched into a medley of songs from his own repertoire, hitting on Fresh Vegetable, Chatty Chatty and Just Friends, then ending on a high note with If Jah Is Standing By My Side in English and Spanish.
It was then Spragga Benz’s time to hit the stage and he did, for a long time singing quite a few of his older tunes like Step Ina Yuh Face and a number of ‘matey’ tunes which he is known for. He invited on stage Mr. Vegas as a ‘special guest’ who began with a couple of his hits then in an attempt to warm the crowd, launched into gospel. At this point, Vegas dressed in a smart suit and tie looked more like Pastor Vegas as he took the crowd from When the Saints go Marching In to Send Down the Rain. He paid tribute to D. Brown with Revolution and Barrington Levy with Too Experienced. Mr. Lex joined them and the three the hard way really delivered.
The wait for Sean Kingston seemed cruel, since the crowd needed the heat from the stage to keep warm. But unfortunately, the pop star was not well received by the audience. He may have been misinformed about the largely Jamaican crowd which has no patience for commercial plugs when they want to hear music. Kingston started out with a rap, which fell flat. His Mi Love did not cut it and he brought up a new act that was booed. With all that, he had a good save with Beautiful Girls, then his mother joined him on stage – maybe for moral support. Kingston left the stage shortly after with obvious disappointment on his face.
Beenie Man came next, and he was supposed to be the precursor to Bounty Killer and Mavado. Beenie did his usual set, and the crowd seemed to love him despite his obvious narcissistic attempt to find his fans in the crowd. “Mek mi see all a di Beenie Man fan dem.” That is kind of tired now. But the crowd ate it up, cheering in the freezing cold for the so-called King of the Dancehall as he went through a litany of his songs. But the crowd anticipation was growing for the two last acts. Just then, the MC, who we all thought was about to announce Bounty and/or Mavado, directed the crowd to an after party. No Bounty, No Mavado – it seems this is becoming the norm for both acts who were also billed for Best of the Best earlier this year but never showed.
Freezing fans left the park in a hurry - some calling Mavado ‘Ma-fraud-o’ and vowing never to return. But they always say that and end up there next year!
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