Mahalia and 2 Mile Hill called it a revival but what they delivered on Sunday at Mahalia’s Corner was a reawakening of memories rooted in a time when life was simpler for most of the Gen Xers and Millennials in the audience, a time when Time to Sing was as much a Sunday staple as attending church, ZRs were art canvasses and recording mix tapes of your favourite songs from the radio was the norm.
The penultimate show, featuring entertainer Damian Marvay, was about community, the collective memories of a generation who, now grown up with families of their own and responsibilities, were able to restore their soul. For the younger people (Gen Zers) in the audience, it was a glimpse into some of the music their parents liked and a foreshadowing of their older years when they may feel nostalgic at shows with music/songs they jammed to.
For about three hours, a palpable excitement enveloped the room at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, wrapping it in its embrace from the time hostess Mahalia welcomed the patrons, told them that the purple
ambient lighting was acknowledging World Alzheimer’s Day – members of the Barbados Alzheimer’s Association were in the anteroom sharing information to increase awareness of the disease – until the final note of Know De Face that Marvay sang just after 11 p.m.
The selection of originals and covers from both 2 Mile Hill and Marvay suited the revival theme to a T. Also, unlike the two previous shows this September season, the featured artiste appeared for the entire show, so the audience got more of him.
After 2 Mile Hill’s performance of Queen from 2011, the band’s final single from its iteration as Nexcyx, spotlight artiste Theo Deo The Poet Greenidge joined them during the rendition of
Gotye’s Somebody That I Used to Know
weaving his words to tell a story.
The band did Jill Scott’s The Way and A Long Walk and followed that with their first 2 Mile Hill single It’s Over, after which Marvay took centrestage and as usually happens at the Corner, some of the artiste’s songs were rearranged and some remained the same.
Marvay, who sang soca, R&B, and reggae, opened with Antidote from 2017, which he dedicated to “anybody who lost anybody they used to feel good with” and unfurled the nostalgia with P.M. Dawn’s I’d Die Without (1992) and Glenn Benjamin’s Free (1993) with Mahalia. Mahalia followed that with Des’ree’s You Gotta Be from 1994.
Two performances
After that came, arguably, one of the two outstanding performances of the show.
With Mahalia on lead vocals, Shekara Straker and Naressa Lynch on backing vocals, and bassist Kris Clarke taking up the mic to sing, the performers stepped into church with an impeccable rendition of Kirk Franklin’s Silver and Gold from 1993 that left the audience in awe.
Deo The Poet, an award-winning spoken word artist, returned and dropped the provocative piece Young People Been Struggling
before Marvay sang the inspiring Push and Go Through to bring the first half to a crescendo.
The vibes didn’t stop at all during the break from the performances as DJ Salt dropped an eclectic set, inclusive of dance hall, hip hop, and theme songs from popular television series, that was a welcome trip down memory lane.
Popular songs
The second half of the show was just as good as the first. 2 Mile Hill started with more popular songs from the latter part of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st century, such as
Pump Up The Jam,
Crystal Walters’ Gypsy Woman (La Da Dee/ She’s Homeless), Bobby Brown’s Prerogative, Lauryn Hill’s Doo Wop (That Thing) and Lost Ones, for which Marvay joined them.
He sang Bob Marley’s Forever Loving Jah, which was followed by the show’s second outstanding performance of Hold You In A Song
with Mahalia and saxophonist Romaro Greaves. Their rendition of the John King and Alison Hinds’ duet was so moving it brought people to their feet.
The audience was in a tizzy with the performance of Busy Signal’s Come Over (Missing You), I-Sasha’s Don’t You Know and Sizzla’s No Pain, and Sanchez’ Never Dis De Man. Mahalia joined in with Chevelle Franklyn and
Lady G’s Thank You,
which is on the same riddim.
The band switched genres and the tempo with Machel Montano’s Toro Toro, Music Farm and Big Truck, and sprinkled some zouk with
Kassav’s Zouk La Sel Medikaman Nou Ni and before long it was time for Marvay’s final selections. He sang his most popular soca songs – Survive the Weekend, Sweet Potato and Know De Face – to end a night of fantastic performances.
Open mic
This week’s Open Mic saw seven performances. There was spoken word from StonedwithCupid, and Washington D.C.-based
Monè, and singing from Lisa, Jaliah, Antoine, Chloe and Jordan and Wesley, who have appeared on The Voice.
Mahalia’s Corner’s final show is next Sunday at the same venue. GBM)
