The Sunday Mail
ZIMBABAWE has since its birth in 1980 played host to a number of high-profile artistes from around the globe. The country’s live music enthusiasts are known to be very demanding and not easily convinced or wowed. So when international acts visit, they always have to up their game or risk a walkout, or – in worst case scenarios – being pelted off the stage.
Conrad Mwanawashe, an avid reggae devotee and a reporter with our sister paper The Herald, attended the Morgan Heritage gig at the Harare International Conference Centre on October 8. He shares his experience.
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Music soothes, serenades and illuminates a feeling that enthuses. When one leaves the comfort of home, joins a queue to purchase an entrance ticket to a musical show, one expects to have a good story to tell after. These “take homes” are wide and varied. One wants to be able to say; “I had fun”, “I had a blast”, “It was worth it”, or better still, “I grabbed a selfie with the star”.
These expectations are higher when a show has been hyped on radio, TV, print media, social media and through flyers and posters.
That hype comes with certain demands on the promoters because the audience, once inside the venue, have high standards they expect.
The audience expects good quality sound, which if not well engineered could be a huge put off no matter how much the artistes put in. No one can be entertained by what they cannot hear. The much-hyped Morgan Heritage show was no exception in terms of expectations from long time fans of the Jamaican royalty. There was a countdown to the show with screaming headlines and teasers.
“Five days to go. Have you got your tickets yet? Eight October is the date. Get advance tickets and avoid the hassle.” “The legendary Grammy award-winning Morgan Heritage – The strictly roots Africa Tour – supported by Zim’s finest”.
The local contingent was made up of the legend Oliver Mtukudzi, Winky D, Judgment Yard, Gary B and Templeman. Reference to Morgan Heritage’s Grammy award-winning exploits sent expectations into the stratosphere. And we were not disappointed. With all the pressure of coalescing such an internationally acclaimed ensemble, the local promoters 2Kings Entertainment and their partners lived up to the task.
For starters the band does not live together in one city when not on tour. They have separate lives in different parts of the world while some are based back home in Jamaica. Flying them all in from their different bases is by no means an easy task. The costs only add to the logistical headaches.
By the time the advance party of the Jamaicans – Mr Mojo, Peetah and Gramps, together with their road managers – arrived, the buzz had become a roar. They added to the anticipation by refusing to have a Press briefing upon arrival, choosing to first take a nap at their hotel and then chatting to the media a few hours later. At the media conference, the three Morgan brothers were equal to the task.
The self-assurance and poise of international stars was there to see, as they nonchalantly bragged how their performance would be 10 times better than anyone had ever seen. Fast forward to the day of the show. 2Kings Entertainment deserve applause for the organised manner in which they ran the show. Due to the release of advance tickets and provision of many outlets to sell and “redemption” for those who had bought in advance, entrance was not a hustle.
“Redeeming” means validating the ticket with the organisers. When show time came, the supporting acts laid a solid foundation and when the Grammy award winners took to stage, that nonchalant brag about a-show-ten-times-better-than-ever-seen turned out to be no idle boast.
The sound engineers took their time while local DJs entertained the audience, ensuring no lull in performance as Morgan Heritage prepared to do their thing. Stage management is a key tenet for professional acts. No one should be on stage if they have no business there. The stage is sacred.
Morgan Heritage take control of the show, and even when the audience sang along they still remained the authors and makers of the beautiful reggae music. There are artistes who leave the audience to control the show, while others have a tendency to take advantage of the fans’ enthusiasm to cover for their laziness.
When a song was to end, Morgan Heritage ended it because they had a long playlist they wished to dish to Zimbabwe. They resisted the temptation of many musicians to needlessly pander to cries of “encore”.
And even then, their interaction with the audience was a marvel. No one felt left out, no one felt short-changed. This is what reggae is all about.
