Reggae on the Beach — the Job Has Been Done, the Performance Has Been Delivered, and the Audience Loved It!

by Randy

Photo Credit: FABRICE MAUVOIS

THE JOB WAS DONE, THE PERFORMANCE WAS DELIVERED, AND THE AUDIENCE LOVED IT!

“I come to you today dressed in the cloak of shame and desolation. Let me explain!”

THE BIG DAY

On Sunday, November 12, the event “REGGAE ON THE BEACH” organized by LM LE DJ took place at Carbet (you know where it is now).

The title speaks for itself, a festive setup on the beach at Carbet, a sound system, a bar, food options. A stage adorned with a beautiful banner “Ville du Carbet” — in short, everything to delight an audience that came in large numbers to listen and vibe with selected artists during the live concert of Yaniss Odua & Artikal Band and Barrington Levy & his band. Just that!

“Mr.” YANISS ODUA

Where it gets tricky, and it’s entirely my fault, is that I arrive just as Mr. Odua is leaving the stage and I regret it so much, especially since I can feel the energy circulating around me upon my arrival.

Only good vibrations.

I find myself in the midst of an audience with smiles on their faces who, as one might say colloquially, loved it!

YANISS ODUA

RESPECT!

I really hesitated to write this article, but wouldn’t it be disrespectful to Mr. Barrington Levy? Speaking of respect, we’ll come back to that later, Mr. Levy.

A small (at least that’s what we thought) musical interlude after warm thanks to Mr. Odua, the audience, and the mayor of Carbet present, all concluded with a very nice promise made by Mr. Léton:

“At every event of this type that I organize, there will always be a Martinican artist.”

…watch out, sir, we’re keeping an eye on you now.

YANISS ODUA & M. LETON

SUPER SELEKTA & DJ HERO

Anyway, Selek Tali and DJ Klyne, who donned his selekta cape, take over the turntables and they put on a show; one could have thought we were at Watabambam 2!

SELEK TALI & DJ KLYNE

The audience is hot and receptive, and the vibe is good. The musicians take their places in the background, everything is going well. The imminent arrival on stage of Mr. Levy is announced once, then twice, then six times — that’s a lot for an artist who is just backstage… but the “selektas” hold strong; the pressure must not drop, Yaniss didn’t set the place on fire for nothing (as reported by someone who attended his show).

Small parenthesis ( ) I can’t help but burst out laughing when I see him crossing the crowd, hooded with his six bodyguards; I don’t understand right away, at first I think it’s an exfiltration of someone who is fainting, so incongruous is the scene — but better too much security than not enough, you might say.

FINALLY…

BARRINGTON LEVY!!

After an hour where my mind had plenty of time to list the potential reasons for this wait (and I know for a fact that I had pinpointed it).

BARRINGTON LEVY

“Mr. Barrington Levy shows his face and actually… he delivers.”

BARRINGTON LEVY

This man has a voice from elsewhere, and I forget the wait.

He rolls out the hits, but really this naturally modified voice and so easily modifiable, and this chest and this ease in playing with notes to simply make music, it’s just impressive.

I literally lose myself in the twist, and I’m not the only one (we should organize disco nights from the roaring twenties in Martinique… it’s probably already happening). And Barrington Levy dances, and the audience dances, and Barrington Levy sings, and the audience sings.

BIG UP!

In conclusion, I would say that I remain disappointed to have missed Mr. Odua, and I sincerely regret not being able to convey my feelings to you; I am mixed about Barrington Levy; his performance and his voice made me want to listen to his music, his behavior made me want to stick to his music.

In terms of organization, there are what we call in event planning “unexpected events” and “risks.” The job was done, the performance was delivered, the audience loved it, and no matter what might be happening backstage, “the show must go on,” so BIG UP for managing everything that we, the audience, are unaware of, and congratulations on this first Reggae concert you organized, and that’s no small feat.

See you soon.

- The French KRIBBEAN —