“UNFORGETTABLE” CONCERT TALK OF THE TOWN

By: Bhisham Mohamed

Hits and Jams Entertainment, along with the Kashif and Shanghai organisation and the government of Guyana, have done it once again, hosting the show of the year, “Unforgettable”, which was held at the Guyana National Stadium on Christmas Night.

This show will surely be on the tongues of the more than 10,000 fans who packed the stadium to be part of a historic concert and to see the Princess of R&B, Ashanti, reggae superstar Jah Cure and Jamaican singing sensation Konshens. 

The show got underway at about 23:15hrs with the local artistes performing, some to the crowd’s satisfaction while some were disappointing. The first of the locals to perform was Spiderman, followed by Shelly G, who definitely set the stage for an enjoyable night. After the performance by Shelly G, Jory came on stage and did his part with his signature song “Blackberry” among others, but after a while, his performance became a talk show. This did not really put some persons in a party mood. The crowd then began shouting for Ashanti, but the MC called to the stage Timeka Marshall, who did not perform to the crowd’s expectations.   

Many women in the crowd also offered to help her become a good dancer, since they felt that she was too stiff.  The women thought that, as an artiste who performs both locally and internationally, Marshall needed some training so that she can go out and represent Guyanese women to the fullest. Approximately 15 minutes after Marshall’s performance, the moment that everyone was waiting for arrived: performances by the “big guns”. 

Kicking off things for the international segment of the show was the 2009 Entertainer of the Year, Konshens, who sent the crowd, especially the ladies, “berserk” when he came on stage decked out in an all-white outfit with dark shades and a leather jacket. He performed several of his songs, beginning with a few old hits and moving to his new releases, but the most popular was “Dutty name.” 

During his performance, Konshens invited a young lady on stage to join him, where she was serenaded. He then took off his jersey and presented it to her as a token of her participation. That is a piece of fabric that she might not want to get rid of, or even wash. 

After Konshens’s performance, DJ Seon enquired from the crowd who they would like to see next, and the crowd as one again shouted for Ashanti, which left him with no choice but to invite the Princess of R&B to the stage. Dressed in a skimpy golden evening gown, Ashanti set the national stadium ablaze. After singing several of her hits, she took a break but kept the party mood alive; the DJ who accompanied the diva did an excellent job of mixing music that had the crowd really pumped up. It took about 10 minutes for Ashanti to get changed, and this time, she came out dressed in a red spandex jumpsuit with the Guyana flags on the two arms. Upon seeing her in the outfit, the males in the audience went crazy. Ashanti spent another half hour on stage singing more of her hit songs, after  which her special DJ took over and spiced up things with some popular soca rhythms that the diva danced to as she waved the Guyanese flag. She also distributed jerseys to some fans in the VIP section.  

This energising performance laid the foundation for the main entertainer of the evening: Jah Cure. He made his grand entrance, and members of the audience stretched to get a ‘touch’ from the reggae superstar, who performed for more than an hour. His songs brought back memories for some, who were seen swaying. And when the reggae superstar broke into “Behind these prison walls”, tears were seen tricking from the eyes of some of his fans, while some were seen singing with their eyes shut. The show came to an end at about 03:45hrs.        

Among the audience were President Bharrat Jagdeo; Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony; PNCR members of parliament, and many dignitaries from the diplomatic corps. Security for this mega event was excellently coordinated, as was all the necessary traffic arrangements. The show was part of collaborative efforts of the government and the promoters to produce three major shows every year – one in February, one in August and one in December.