Live soca music blared through the speakers at the state of the art music hall, Best Buy Theater in Times Square, NYC on March 9 when Shorblu Events and Big & Strong Promotions staged an historic concert featuring Kes the Band. The show was aptly titled Kes All In. Dressed in patriotic black, red and white, lead singer Kees Dieffenthaller commandeered his adoring fans as he swooned them with sweet lyrics and his superstar appeal. With screams at the highest decibels and soca fanatics in their blissful state, the action began on a high. As a true gentleman, he welcomed his guests with an electrifying introduction, belting out hits such as Where Yuh From and Come Play a Mas as he passed the mic to his fellow soca comrades.
It was only fitting to bless an event of that calibre with a performance by a legend. Calypso and soca icon, David Michael Rudder, proved with his rousing rendition of Calypso Music why he holds the title. Rudder also captivated the crowd with deliveries of perennial favorites Hammer and High Mas just to name a few. Equally exhilarating were the performances of Benjai and Swappi. Benjai, “The people’s champion” dressed to the nines in a handsome grey suit with a purple satin shirt, engaged the audience with Trini and By De Bar but it was his 2012 hit The People’s Champion that sent the crowd into a frenzy. Soca sensation Swappi also made his first major NYC debut on the Best Buy stage. Swappi was in full 4D effect as he thrilled the ladies with Nah Go Play and 4D Wine but drove the audience into pandemonium with when they heard, Bucket. Kes the band returned to stage for the second half of the show continuing the excitement with some more singles including those off their 2011 album Stereotype such as Weekend Love, Come Gyal, Wotless plus Coming Over, Island Love and Stress Away from the soon to be released Wired album.
Reggae songstress Tessanne Chin took breaths away when, as the surprise guest of the night, she joined Kees on stage to perform their sultry ballad Loving You and even serenaded the audience with her international reggae single, Hideaway Even though the theatre was packed to capacity, it felt more like an intimate gathering of friends and family celebrating a meaningful occasion. But the night would not be complete without Kees’ normal antics of bringing on a voluptuous fan for his “big ting small ting” segment. However, that didn’t quite go as planned, when Kees’ petite frame buckled under the weight of the fan, resulting in a hilarious tumble. Determined, the singer tried yet again to lift up the heavyweight, only to fall and get pinned under the loyal fan. The willing fan has since stated that she can be dropped ten times over by the star, whom she loves dearly.
Review and images courtesy
JayBlessed.com
