Entertainment Reporter

THE Konvict Concert that featured R ‘n’ B star Akon and dancehall superstar Sean Paul lived up to its billing over the weekend as the giant National Sports Stadium became a melting pot for a multi-cultural and multi-racial audience that danced Saturday night into Sunday morning.

A near-capacity crowd turned up for the concert which was billed to be one of the biggest in recent memory and despite initial logistical nightmares, the crowd got value for money.

The show started late as scores of people who had not bought their tickets in advance struggled to pay their way in and chaos at the gates was inevitable.

Those who came early were disappointed to see sound engineers still busy sound-checking when in fact for concerts of that magnitude, sound checks are usually done well in advance.

Add to this cocktail of hitches, there was the "greatest betrayal" on those who had bought US$100 tickets for the vantage Golden Circles, which never was as there was no demarcation between the Golden Circle (close to the stage), VIP and the rest of the ground, making it easy for anyone including those who had the cheapest, US$15 tickets, to sneak into the Golden Circle that was supposed to be the preserve of those who had parted with a cool US$100.

Gates to the VIP and Golden Circle were not manned and to make matters worse, the plastic barricades were removed before the show even began.

"I feel robbed, imagine someone who paid US$15 and those of us who paid US$100 are pushing and shoving . . . it’s so unfair," said an irate music fan.

An elated fan said: "Great show indeed and we hope there would be many more such shows."

"Well, the show was good I enjoyed it though the organisers could have done better on logistics," said Mama Red Rose, a local music promoter.

Despite the logistical glitches, the concert peaked with each performance.

First on stage were upcoming musicians among them Winky D, Crisis a.k.a Mr Swagger from Zambia, Extra Large, Ex Q, Leonard Mapfumo, Cindy Munyavi and Trevor Dongo, who did not disappoint.

Winky D — who is known to his fans by such sobriquets as the Lion, Ninja or Bigiman — got everyone on their feet with a fine delivery of heavy punch lines.

Next to hit the stage was Sean Paul who sent the crowd into delirium with his songs and beautiful backing vocalists

Sean Paul inspired a mass sing-along, churning his very best in music.

He performed all his hits including, Zimbabwe, a special dedication to Zimbabwe originally done by the legendary Bob Marley at Independence in 1980.

His version of "I Gotta Feelin" by Black Eyed Peas injected frenzy into the crowd.

"For the sexy ladies," he said before he played the hit "Temperature".

He also preached the word of peace to his fans and urged them to remain calm.

If Sean Paul was the icing on the cake, surely Akon must have been the cherry on top.

The Senegalese-born American star kicked his performance in grand style with a snippet in which he features as a "hustler" dealing in diamonds.

But the deal went soar and typical of all gangster movies, it ends up in gunfire exchange but Akon emerges victorious.

In short, it was a cool teaser for what was to come.

He was greeted with loud cheers from his legion of fans and all hell broke loose.

Like Sean Paul, he had prepared a jam-packed playlist that included hits like Ghetto, I’m So Paid, Beautiful, Mama Africa with help from a Congolese young artiste and the Fifa World Cup inspired song — Africa.

The highlight of his performance was when he appeared in what he calls "Magic Curtain" a balloon in which he rolled over into the crowd.

"Zimbabwe are you there?" he screamed to loud cheers.

He also did crowd surfing and fans had an opportunity to lay their hands on their idol without being restricted by the bouncers.

But the DJ who was sporting a Mohawk hairstyle like Sean Paul showed how it’s done on the turntables.

He was just brilliant on the decks and his dressing inspired by Scottish kilts got everyone talking.

It will not be long before Zimbabwean youths who attended the show copy a thing or two from him. When that happens you will know where it came from.

Overally, though Akon relied on backtracks, the show certainly left an indelible mark on the music scene.