The Sunday Mail
IT was a pleasure watching Michael Madamombe aka Mic Inity back on stage on Friday April 15 at The Volt in Harare.
Mic Inity chose The Volt, the joint that used to be Book Cafe along Samora Machel Avenue, to launch his comeback.
Memories of the joys and music beats once experienced at the Book Cafe before its closure quickly resurfaced. At the former Book Cafe, Mic Inity used to astound many a patron, with solid performances backed by either the Hotta Fyah or House of Stone bands. Back then there would be a host of curtain raisers belting out tunes to his loyal fans filling the joint, waiting for the arrival of their top brand ambassador, Mic Inity.
Then, sound engineers led by Reason, would ensure everything was tuned to the max because Mic Inity has always been very particular about sound quality. In fact, even his dressing, he loves to be in tune with the times.
He would take to the stage around midnight during those days and do his thing, top drawer performances most of the times.
The sound quality was pleasing then, the players of instruments played with valour. Normally, for Mic Inity’s gigs there would have been so much advertising from newspaper articles to social media. This one went quietly.
Then Mic Inity was charging an entry fee of US$10 per person and would still attract capacity crowds, and these were midweek gigs. And so Friday 15 was expected to be one of those fine nights. What a contrast.
The three-member band made life very difficult for Mic Inity.
The major challenge to the puzzle was the choice of instrument players by Mic Inity. It backfired.
The bassist, take nothing from the young man, has a long way to go, especially by Mic Inity’s own standards. For cover versions, Mic Inity used to be the man. Bring Buju Banton, Vybz Kartel, Lutan Fyah and many other Jamaican artistes; Mic Inity was the torch-bearer for Zimbabwe. But not with a performance like Friday’s!
It would have been best for him to invite back or even beg Hottah Fyah or House of Stone to play for him to maintain his standards.
The gig at The Volt was key in so much as it was at the same venue where he laid down his marker as a greenhorn, therefore, comparisons between then and now were inevitable.
A little humility to involve those guys on whom he built his fame would not kill.
When one is reincarnating themselves, they must do it with vigour and glamour not just like a passenger entering a chicken bus where the conductor does not need your name. Had he done it with a bang, it could have boosted his confidence.
Definitely, the second coming must be big, with repercussions to those who miss out. Loyal Mic Inity fans that missed the Friday gig should be pinching themselves by now due to high number of positive reviews, but it is not the case.
What a missed opportunity!
To his credit Mic Inity attempted to ignore the challenges to his comeback gig and continued to perform but it affected him to an extent that those who know him know that his confidence dipped after the second song.
He has this never-say-die attitude, which keeps him retracing his path. His commitment to his talent is extra-ordinary. However, this alone would not take him to where he used to be and better still to greater heights he is yet to reach.
For someone who has been away for a long time particularly one who set the bar high up there, a lot was and is still expected. Those standards he set many years ago are the yardstick with which he is measured. Mic Inity sounded rusty and not his usual self.
He may need to invest more time in practice and rehearsals with his new team. With some major corrections, Mic Inity can relive the heights of past years. The good thing is that he is back and ready to face the world again.
His performance showed, however, that he still has his talent, energy and zeal. But he needs a rethink on his band otherwise he may not find his feet again. And so the few patrons in the club, made up of mostly “die-hard” Mic Inity fans who stay true to their brand, took a decision to be there for their brand leader.
They danced and supported their man through the challenges he was facing on stage. What made the show drab was also that while the band was struggling on stage, the stench in The Volt was killing. The toilets were passing this odour and therefore, patrons were faced with a double edged sword.
Hopefully, this and other gigs like his weekly $2 entry ticket per person at Mbare’s Blue Bar will help Mic Inity re-launch himself and endear his brand with reggae-dancehall fans.
