Walking on air falls flat

The concept: Great. Patronage: More than expected. The setting: Magical. The main act: Talented. The performances: So-so.

That was the feeling one was left with following Walking on Air - the charity show organised by singer Alaine at Redbones Blues Café in St Andrew on Friday night.

The event was a celebration of the singer's birthday as well as her bid to give back to charities she holds dear -- Allman Town Primary School and Mary's Child.

This was possibly the major pull as by near 10:00 pm, only persons already holding tickets were being admitted inside the venue. Those without just had to find other forms of entertainment.

To help her pull it off, Alaine invited some of her friends -- Sherita Lewis, Chronixx and 'Mr Singy Singy' himself, Tarrus Riley.

Chronixx and Lewis got the ball rolling, each delivering a handful of tracks to warm up the audience.

Alaine would take to the stage by 10:10 pm dressed in a white mini-dress with gold accents and matching shoes which she soon ditches, claiming discomfort.

Backed by the 131 Band, she opened with We Rise, then moved into a series including her own works as well as cover versions.

The next segment would include some of her dancehall tracks. Only For You, Chaka Chaka Love, Wine, and For Your Eyes Only were met with mixed reactions.

Following an intermission, comedian Christopher 'Johnny' Daley would break the ice and the duo Voicemail would render two tunes to support the cause.

Tarrus Riley was next up greeting his audience with Lion Paw, then creating a segue into Never Leave I and his take on Michael Jackson's Human Nature, in the process his stagemanship threatens to take the spotlight. He closes the set with his duet with the birthday girl, Love for Life.

For this second half of the show Alaine moves from white to a black mini number and another pair of shoes which she also kicks off within minutes.

For openers, she does a few tracks which are not from her popular files Smiling, Like a Magnet, It Nuh Matter and Revolution, although they showcased her singing talent, coming after Riley's engaging set, really fell flat.

She could only revive her audience when she got them involved in Bye-Bye and the remix based on a joke earlier in the evening by Christopher Daley who suggested that she use the Jamaican parlance in this track by telling the ex-lover "galang" instead of bye-bye.

The evening would wind down with Walking on Air, the track for which the night was named, Sacrifice and No Ordinary Love.

(from Jamaica Observer)