Hot sun, ocean breezes, cool vibes and lots of loving warm hearts sums up how it went down at One Love Festivals Australian debut on the beautiful Broadwater Parklands.
The reggae heat started early with Swiss up first followed by Paua, 1814, Fiji and Jamaican band Third World. New Zealand band The Black Seeds were a popular replacement for Toots and The Maytals as the large turnout of Gold Coast New Zealanders and Samoans sang along to many of their tunes. Another Kiwi band Nesian Mystic finished their set singing "kiss me when the sun goes down" as those bold enough to remove their sunglasses caught their last glimpse of the light.
Sons of Zion opened their set loud with a cracking drum solo - a great band with a backup/lead vocalist sounding a little like Guy Sebastian. Sons of Zion pleased the crowd by playing 'Is This Love' as they rightly declared it wouldn’t be a reggae set without Bob!
Mr. Bombastic himself Shaggy gyrated onto centre stage the total cheeky entertainer opening with 'In The Summertime' mixing into 'That Girl’s' funky beats off the deck. His big band led by the cool funky bass, trumpets and synth keyboards rocked as Shaggy gave a big up to "my people from Logan". He went on to tease the crowd of being hot and tired and wanted them to "turn up" to match his energy levels - they were high! According to Shaggy, we were on notice that when it comes to Shaggy and Sean Paul’s shows it’s ladies at the front and dudes at the back as he leads into 'Jump Jump'.
Shaggy explained to the crowd that he had to constantly break it down to his R&B Brother Ne-Yo that reggae music love songs were more romantic than R&B love songs. Shaggy said "Ne-Yo one in every five Jamaican men have a least ten baby mamas - that didn't happen on no Lionel Ritchie or no Baby Face song- that happened on some Bob Marley turn your lights down low, some Gregory Isaac 'Night Nurse' tune" as he led into his reggae love-song 'You Girl' (playfully feat. Ne -Yo). This was going to be no show without an encore and Shaggy’s huge hit 'It Wasn’t Me' turned the green and gold up high.
The syncopated rhythm of Jamaican funky beats pumped out during set changes to keep the crowd moving, grooving and singing through the waft of late evening reggae smoke while they waited for Sean Paul. There were lots of spirited dance moves on display - 'The Pistol', 'The Island Sway' the 'Jamaican Whine Up', the 'I Can Dance with Four Drinks in My Hand and Not Spill a Drop' to name a few.
Two dynamo dancers in red vinyl cheerleader skirts and bikini tops led Sean Paul on stage showing us what a disciplined athletic art form dance is. Sean Paul (SP) opened with his hit 'Get Busy' which was the first Dancehall single to reach No.1 in the US. Sean Paul looked New York night club slick in cool black and white threads accessorized with an ostentatious thick silver chain that radiated a million-dollar shine right to the back of the Broadwater. It was an energetic stage show as 'Got to Love You' kept the hands in the air.
Sean Paul’s hit 'Fun Tonight' feat. Sia set off a mass crowd twerk off among the ladies. His band were fantastic including a smoking DJ adding extra layers to the reggae dance hall samba fest. Sean Paul asked permission to freestyle over Ed Sheeran’s 'I’m In Love with Your Body' which was a big hit with the crowd.
There were several tributes to the ladies Including 'How Deep Is Your Love' "they gotta love for the ladies who making the babies!" Sean Paul said. 'Boasty' – his collaboration with Wiley, Stefflon Don and Idris Elba a lyrically true dancehall hit with its frequent use of Jamaica Creole. Sean Paul gave a big shout out to his fellow Jamaicans Third World and Shaggy as he launched into 'Just Give It A Light' encouraging the crowd to light up a reggae cigarette before finishing his energetic set with, 'She Doesn’t Mind'.
You got to represent One Love and it was delivered in hefty improvised beats at Broadwater Parklands on Saturday, where I’m certain everyone was uplifted.
Images (C) Santography by Danny Santangelo
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