A recent trend that has emerged in the Toronto entertainment scene are intimate and interactive style concerts where a single headlining act, with or without the accompaniment of openers is brought to a smaller venue (a little like MTV unplugged) to share the best of their musical catalogue with the truest of fans. Up and coming event production team, Brownzville Entertainment, put together one such event this past Friday August, 27th, 2010 at The Orange Room (Guvernment Entertainment Complex) called “Back 2 Basics” featuring the talented Tanya Stephens live and direct from Jamaica. We were also treated to performances by Lisa Howell from Barbados and an exciting performance by one of Canada’s top reggae selectors-turned-artists; Lindo P (a.k.a. Lindissimo).
It was really amazing to overhear many say they attended to see their favourite Toronto artist Lindo P sing live such songs as his smash hit “Let’s Get Married” and “Sunshine”, but there was no question that the true Tanya Stephens fans came out to experience this rare unscripted performance. Dressed in a simple pair of white skinny jeans, and a black knit sweater, Vivienne Stephenson better known as Tanya Stephens stepped out onto the stage and for approximately 90 minutes crooned us with that distinctively nasal voice of hers that was made famous with songs like “Yuh Nuh Ready Fi Dis Yet”, “It’s a Pity”, “Goggle” and “These Streets”. Tanya’s demeanour on stage is very relatable. She spoke to the crowd as if she was one of us, and actually cracked a number of jokes which made the performance that much more captivating.
One of the points that she brought up in her interaction with us, was that today’s dancehall reggae artists are bringing the culture down with their behaviour and some of the messages they put out in their music. It does make you wonder if reggae music will ever be considered a unifying force like it once was. I do know for sure, that on this night, at this show, there was a lot of love and respect for music that has a place in the soundtrack of our lives.
Highlights:
·This was the debut event for Brownzville Entertainment, and they did a solid job of delivering exactly what they promised, and that is a very good first impression.
·Tanya’s candid banter with the audience was very refreshing and real.
·Her voice was on point, and she blazed out many songs acapella.
·Extremely diverse crowd of all different cultures and age groups came out to the show.
Lowlights:
·Leading up to the live performances, reggae crowds tend to hug the walls pretty tightly, even though the DJs were doing their best to get people to move to the dancefloor. (I kept quietly thinking if I’d been at a soca fete, the place would have done “tun ovah” already).
Darling Nicky’s Final Thoughts:
With the exception of pop music, females have long taken a back-seat to their more notable male counterparts from hip-hop to rock. What I love about female reggae artists is that they have strong lyrics, bold voices, and in the case of Tanya Stephens, can make the boys blush with just one verse. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this concert; could Tanya headline a show and captivate a club full of people as in her hay day? The answer is, “Yuh Nuh Ready Fi Dis Yet” bwoy!
