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I have been a Maxi Priest fan for years but had never seen him in concert. When I heard he was having a concert in Miramar, Florida, as the featured artist I penciled the date on my calender. ”An Evening with Maxi Priest” was held at Miramar Cultural Center in Miramar, Florida on March 30th, 2013.
The theater was packed. The concert started promptly at 8:00 pm with the violinist duo sensation,The Sons of Mistro, as the opening act. The duo is of Jamaican heritage. I had heard them before but in shorter intervals. As the opening act for the Maxi Priest they would have their own set. They were amazing as they used the violin to pay tribute to many popular reggae artists. They brought the audience to their feet in their reggae segment with “Nah Sell Out” by Khago. Their violins were like voices singing the song. Next they paid tribute to Michael Jackson. The audience loved it as they rocked in their seats to the music while singing along. They ended their set with one of their original pieces called “Firestorm”.
There was a 15 minute intermission before Maxi Priest took the stage.
The intermission was quick and the build up to Maxi Priest started. The band backing Maxi Priest took the stage and started their sound check. The announcer who introduced Maxi Priest was not visible. We later learned that it was the dancehall DJ who would back up Maxi Priest.
After 2 minutes of “hype” by the DJ announcer, the lights dimmed and Maxi Priest burst onto the stage. He was a bolt of energy for the anticipating audience.
He started out with “Just a little bit longer” from the Bonafide album. His voice sounded just the same as on all his albums…silky smooth and soulful.
He sang a few more songs off the Bonafide albums and then he got to “A wide world”. This song got the audience on their feet as they sang the chorus of the song with him. Next he did “Some guys have all the luck”.
It is always great to see an entertainer who is comfortable with himself that they pay tribute to another artist. Maxi Priest did this with a tribute to Dennis Brown singing the hit song “Should I “. The audience never sat back in their seats until he took a pause from singing to say how much he loved the vibes and the fans. During his set the band was very interactive with him and showing their special talents on the instruments they played.
Next up was a new song called “Easy to love you”. It was a great song with a beautiful arrangement. One audience member close by mentioned it could be a big hit if it got air play.
Maxi continued with love songs singing “I believe in love”. Next he sang “Crazy Love” which had the ladies in a “frenzy”. The audience sang along as he did a very soulful acapella version of the song.
The “build up” continued with Maxi singing his crossover hit song “Closer to you”. He was going back and forth with the audience having them sing the chorus.
He then transitioned the song seamlessly into his biggest hit “House call”. This is when the voice that “hyped” the crowd entered the stage…his name was DJ Beniton the Menace. He sang the DJ parts of the song “House Call” which was original done by Shabba Ranks.
The show went to another level as Maxi Priest seemed to get a new burst of energy from DJ Beniton the Menace on the stage. They both moved across the stage interacting with the audience. Everyone was standing and singing along. Next they did a medley of popular dancehall songs in a segment Maxi Priest called “remember this”. They topped it off with “Murder she wrote” that had the audience rocking. It was the final song of a great night. Maxi gave us his maximum.
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