Concert Review: Jammin Festival 24 Perth – Sean Paul Live In Concert with Stefflon Don and Oxlade
31st of January 2024 at Metro City, Perth Western Australia
Review by Sheldon Ang
Photography by Sheldon Ang Photography
The Grammy Awards winner storms onto the stage at eleven, as red eyed fans turned energised bunnies on a Wednesday night. He stands high on the platform, flanked by two dancers in fitness/bikini tops and bottoms that only a few would dare to showcase in the gym. The dancehall anthem of the noughties echoes, sparking hysteria of the third kind. He descends from the steps, ushered by the ladies who weaved through the smoky air while they project their strength and ooze their sensuality. The intro took control of their bodies, with lyrics converting into visual art with booty drop and shakes. The hectic beat Get Busy is the first number 1 hit on the US Billboard 100 from the Jamaican producer as fans in Perth got a live beat of his signature lilting flow; an art form in the world of dancehall music, fusing with his endless state of motion and dance.
The air was burning – in more ways than one. At 44 degrees, the temperature continued to soar into Metro City in Perth – culminating through the biggest name in reggae and dancehall factory– Sean Paul.
The Jammin Festival Perth is a side show to the Jammin Festival in Sydney and Brisbane over the weekend of 3rd and 4th of February – where Sean Paul headlines in both cities on selected dates. Stefflon Don, also on tonight’s set, will be bridesmaid to Sean Paul and Shaggy among a cast of reggae artist in the weekend of spectacle or reggae. Sparking the night was Nigerian afrobeat sensation and Drake endorsed Oxlade.
At over 50 years old, Sean Paul is a long distant athlete on stage, continuously moving and jumping in rapid succession. Afterall, he was in the national water polo team before giving his full attention to music at 21. The singer’s stage presence was catalysed by the two female dancers with intensed stamina, as they slithered through the stage, booty bouncing, before performing cartwheels and landed on a one-eighty split in a sensational showcase of flaunt and talent.
Breaks in between were rare, as if the entire night was on sixth gear on the super highway to the Caribbean reggae capital; Sean Paul is the epitome of stage dynamics, enhanced by the dancers, where they became the dance. The moves were sexually divined, but that’s the nature of dancehall. He commanded crowd of an eclectic demographic from teenagers to the men in their fifties.
The younger fans danced into the collaborative tracks such as Rockabye featuring Anne-Marie and Clean up Bandit, No Lie featuring Dua Lipa and Baby Boy with Beyonce. Just like a hosts of bands from the 2000’s such as Coldplay, partnership with the new X Factor is a passport to contemporary relevance. And that’s good for the music culture as both teens and silver foxes collided in unity, shoulders to shoulders – as the sisterhood and brotherhood of the fanship spectrum danced and sang the anthems of their clubbing lives. The sight was heart-warming.
The stage lighting was an aesthetical delight, with the spectacle of international stardom rose through the iconic colour of yellow and green sweeping the floor, and often cutting silhouettes of Sean Paul and the dancers as he sizzled through his greatest hits under the pride of Jamaican colours.
Hits after hits they came – Cheap Thrills to Temperature. Sean Paul – at the age fifty is still the king of the clubbing hits.
Stefflon Don of Great Britain with Jamaican roots performed before the reggae king:s performance. She grappled the crowd through dance routine and frivolous flaunt, while remaining classy with her showy and staccato vocal. It seems the booty shake is the fashion. Her stage presence, flanked by five high powered dancers, were captivating, as she graced with sensual mobility while performing to the popular hits such as Boasty and 16 Shoot. Her rap vocals were as savvy as her dance moves, always winning the crowd by engaging, through conversation and eye contact – even inviting a bevy of “Jamaicans” onto the stage for a dance off. It is no wonder she is one step closer to headlining the major reggae festival in the upcoming weekend.
Earlier on, the night was sparked by Oxlade from Nigeria. The afrobeats were smooth as the honeys on the dance floor, often gracing over the surface of the conscious minds, as the Drake endorsed singer is widely tipped to be Nigeria’s next big thing with hits such as INTOXYCATED and KU LO SA.
The sideshow in Perth got what more than what they’ve bargained for- the trio from brought the heat from Jamaica, Britain and Nigeria, igniting an explosive A+ performance before a packed audience on a Wednesday night in Perth.
Tickets to Jammin Festival 2024 can be found here
The writer would like to thank Jammin Australia for the Press Accreditation.
About the Writer/Photographer: Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022) have been accredited to photograph and review over 70 of the hottest acts in Perth including Coldplay, KISS, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Juicy Fest with reviews shared by the likes of UB40, Delta Goodrem and Toni Childs on social media. He has interviewed rockers Ace Frehley (KISS), John Steel (The Animals), Frank Ferrer (Guns N Roses), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Andrew Farris (INXS) and over forty legends.
