A dazzling dancing display from US singer Chris Brown at the Catherine Hall venue in Montego Bay had groupies glued to the front of the stage, screaming and tearing out their hair, fervently hoping for the slightest hint of acknowledgement of their presence.
And the heavily-tatooed Chris Brown played them to the hilt –just as he did the entire Catherine Hall, stretching out to touch their clawing hands, but not quite meeting the target, gyrating his ever-so-athletic body, somersaulting, defying gravity, making pulsating pronouncements while grabbing his crotch. And he also did his songs, live and direct but coupled with heavy lip-syncing which he made absolutely no attempt to hide. Brown delivered a package whose entertainment quotient was undeniable, despite being so heavily dance driven.
High on energy and with youth in his favour, the 21-year-old Brown, whose career had taken a battering when his physical abuse of then girlfriend, pop princess Rihanna was made public in 2009, was a dynamo. Armed with his four equally talented male dancers, a drummer and a selector he delivered a tight, well-orchestrated set in which he made sure to incorporate Jamaican culture.
Casually attired in a pair of khaki shorts, open-front shirt covering his merino, a baseball cap with a red bandana handkerchief hanging loosely from his back pocket, Brown launched his set with Wall to Wall, starting off a mad frenzy which crescendoed as he reeled off other biggies from his repertoire including Gimme Dat, Run It, Say Yow, Brown Skin Girl, and With You. His forwards were huge and when he paid tribute to dancehall by performing tunes like Kartel’s Clarks and showed his knowlegdge of the lingua and the dance moves he had it totally made with the Jamaican audience.
At the end of his hour-long performance on stage there was an exodus from the mud-splattered venue, on a night which failed to lure the usual Friday night high attendance. No doubt the rain during the day played a role in the low turnout on International Night One, but that dd not stop the artistes from delivering great performances.
Source
