dyton mupawaenda
IN yesterday’s issue of H-Metro, we asked this question: Is Burning Spear the fittest 79-year-old musician in the world?
This followed the Jamaican roots-reggae legend’s super performance at the Glamis Arena in Harare on Friday night.
We covered the show and we were charmed by the way the Jamaican legend mesmerised fans with a three-hour show in which he defied his age with his stage performance.
We highlighted that there had been concern that, at 79, the legend would struggle to live up to expectations and his maiden show in this country would lack the energy one expects from the best artists in the world once they are on stage.
But, Burning Spear quashed all those concerns with a vintage energetic performance and, just to show he has the right fitness, he performed at two other shows in South Africa this weekend.
The show at the Glamis Arena was part of Burning Spear’s “One People Africa Tour” and the Zimbabwe date attracted both the young and the old from across the country.
The Rastafarian showcased some “feel good” dances and drum beating moves and justified that he truly belongs to the A-List of entertainers around the world.
He performed old and new hits including Marcus Garvey, Jah See and Know, Open The Gate, The Spear and Talk, among others.
The legend also had a good sound system and talented band to back him up.
The two-time Grammy Award winner shared the stage with local artists led by Emmanuel “Mannex” Motsi, Transit Crew, Cello Culture, Killer T and Feli Nandi.
But, it became very clear who was the star of the show and the difference between these A-List superstars and our own stars was clear for everyone to see.
There is a lot from our promoters and our artists to learn from the Burning Spear show.
The general organisation of the show was good and one could tell that a lot of effort had been poured into the preparations to ensure that the fans would not be inconvenienced.
Promoters need to respect the fans because without the fans the shows will flop.
The musicians, too, also need to respect the fans and that is what we picked from Burning Spear.
He respected all the fans who came to watch him in action and knew that he owed every one of them a performance which was worth every penny they spent to come and watch him.
He didn’t give the impression that he was the superstar and the fans were lucky that he was playing in their backyard.
Instead, he did everything possible to make sure that he ticked all the boxes and delivered one of the best performances we have seen from visiting artists.
Burning Spear is very fit and he deserves credit for that.
His team says he watches his diet closely and also exercises regularly.
This was a very good performance by Burning Spear and that should provide a template for other visiting artists.
Online Reporter