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Great show as Chi-Lites and Manhattans take audience back in time
Promoter John Hunt
Guyanese music lovers, thirsting for good clean classical sounds, were serenaded and wooed by the Manhattans and Chi-Lites, undoubtedly two groups that would have etched their names unto the international music arena.
At the end of the show on Sunday many were debating which was the better of the groups.
The smooth silky tones wafted across the length and breath of the large auditorium of the National Cultural Centre and seeped into the Balcony area.
Muffled screams eventually rose to a crescendo as lead singer of the renowned Chi-Lites, Anthony Watson, dapperly attired in a black two-piece suit, exited backstage and filled the venue with one of his more popular hits, ‘Too late to turn back now.’ “I believe, I believe, I believe I’m falling in love,” he intoned to the screams from some sections of the audience.
The atmosphere became surreal when Watson belted out his hits of yesteryear. The renditions just tumbled out, enwrapping the audience in a different era and they loved it.
Shoulders swayed, fingers clicked as Watson hit an upward chord with hits after popular hits. Some reluctantly became involved, singing along at times to the more popular songs.
When Watson belted out ‘Rainy Night in Georgia’ the crowd went wild. “Do you like what you are hearing,” asked Watson and the crowd answered affirmatively. “Okay, I’m going to take you a little further back; if you know this one just sing along with me.”
Me and Mrs. Jones ———.” The exuberant audience finished the line “….we’ve got a thing going on.”
If those tunes titillated their spirits, the one chosen to bring the curtain down on the first half of the programme left them mesmerized. “Always and forever,” intoned Watson to voluminous roars. “Just like a dream to me that always comes through.”
As the audience trooped out of the auditorium to get some snacks some were grumbling; not about the quality of the performance but its brevity.
They expected much, much more and came into the second half of the show with high, almost unrealistic expectations.
The audience held its breath while the Manhattans took their time making a grand entrance.
When they did it was a resumption of where the Chi-Lites had left off; only for the fact that the music went way back to their embryonic years.
The bona fide senior folks endured the nostalgia, clicking their fingers and tapping their feet. If only there was enough dancing room. “Are you enjoying the show,” Sherman, the lead singer for the Manhattans queried after gracing the stage for some ninety minutes. Affirmative hand claps answered his question.
“Well, we hoped that you had a great time because we did,” said Sherman.
The audience sensed that they were about to wrap and while most felt thrilled by the more than two hours of ecstasy, they were not yet prepared to let the renowned singers go.
The Manhattans, by now joined by the Chi-Lites lead singer, belted out “Ain’t no woman like the one I got.” They then sent the audience home with a fitting rendition; “Let’s just kiss and say goodbye.”
Some lingered behind to touch their stars and probably grab a goodbye kiss. The others left the venue teary eyed and sated.
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