Crowd says no to new acts at Trilogy but Dexta Daps pleads for them

The fans who came out to witness Dexta Daps live in concert at his Trilogy Tour last Friday at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre had zero patience for the truckload of newbies who the superstar entertainer brought along. And they were certainly not shy to show it.

While the show time was set for 8 p.m., unknown to the crowd, Daps was not set to take the stage until midnight. Anticipating the long wait time, organiserss intended to keep the massives happy with selectors like DJ Boom Boom and the new artistes.

What no one could anticipate, though, was the level of vitriol the crowd spewed when said new artistes were announced to take the stage.

Though opting to withhold her name, one eager fan in the front-row told The Gleaner: “I came here from 6:46 p.m. The young artistes should have come earlier. We overwait Dexta, and we are impatient. We need Dexta now. I’ve always wanted to meet Dexta. I bought my ticket from New York in August to come to the show. I bought it online for $25, and now I’m homeland Dexta is the only one I want to see. I’ve never met Dexta, and I’ve always wanted to have this show and I overwait.”

Booing relentlessly, it was several attempts later before DJ Boom Boom could coax them into allowing him to introduce Serrobelum.

Singing two a cappella tracks before his goodwill ran out, Serrobelum said that after seeing the crowd’s rage at waiting for Dexta, he was not eager to take to the stage.

“At first, yeah. Mi a wonder how me a guh go on now. A bay things come to mi mind, but we pull through, yuh zeet. Yuh done know a confidence do the thing,” he said.

With the experience that he describes as “an opportunity for growth” behind him he said: “Mi feel great and give thanks to the Almighty. A Him do the thing.”

Quickly returning to their “We want Dexta!” chant, the crowd’s demands were met at 12:08 a.m. when the Call Me If singer emerged from the a shadow of blue smoke in his gold suit.

Forgetting any annoyance they felt earlier at the wait time, Daps soothed them with his vast discography for 40 minutes before he began to bargain for his young talents.

After asking the crowd to promise him that he could do whatever he liked for the evening, he began, “Listen ... yuh see the same way unuh promise me, me promise them two youth here seh, ‘Yow me a mek sure seh yuh get a chance fi show dem yuh talent and ray’. So yuh haffi accept them fi me please.”

Though asking for two, Daps brought out six artistes, allowing them each at least two songs to show the crowd what they were made of.

Concluding their section with a chide to the crowd, Daps said, “Mi a beg enuh deal with the young artiste them ‘cause you done know a desso dem start ... yuh zeet. So just easy pon dem ‘cause dem bad fi real. Not innah real life, enuh, inna music.”

Ending the show just as he started, Daps crooned into the Kingston night with as many hits as he could muster before the police instructed to end the show a little after 2 a.m.

While clearly annoyed earlier in the night, the same eager fan told The Gleaner that she was satisfied although she did not get a chance to meet the charismatic singer.

“Mi glad mi come out come see this! Mi cyah even talk to how mi sing. My man dat!” she declared.

shanel.lemmie@gleanerjm.com