Willy B Rose was the host for the long-awaited show by the Queen of Reggae, here to accompany Entourloop, with whom she’s been collaborating for several years now. Much to my surprise, we kicked off with Queen Omega, the majority of the audience having come to see the French group who has many fans in Montreal.
The Trinidadian reggae icon was accompanied for the occasion by The Royal Souls, made up of Ons Barnat on keyboards, Thomas Broussard on guitar, Thierry “Titi” Lechauve on bass and David Dub Akom on drums.
First, the musicians set the stage for Royalty, whose voice can already be heard in the distance. And what better way to kick things off than with Fittest, from her most recent album Freedom Legacy, one of her signature tracks. With her long orange dress and legendary signature turban, she takes to the stage like a queen. She segues seamlessly into Make a Sacrifice, during which there was a minor technical hitch with the microphone, followed by Judgement, with audience participation on the chorus. She jumps around the stage, does military steps at times, in short, this Queen is in good physical shape.
“It’s good to be here in Montreal,” she says, not speaking the language of Molière despite her many stays in France. On Dirty Minds, she talks about corruption, which she wants to eradicate, before continuing with Bite the Dust.
“I feel your energy, thank you very much. It’s time for renewal,” she announces.
She does a magnificent cover of Amazing Grace, which she has renamed Jahmazing Grace, adding her own little touch, mixing reggae and dancehall. At times, we felt like we were in a church in the USA. She jumped in the air, danced with the guitarist, sometimes in a trance, singing Glory and ending with a Hallelujah.
She takes a leap back in time when she sings Ganja Baby, from her 2004 album Away from Babylon. “Kudos to the Canadian government for legalizing ganja here. Weed isn’t a drug, it’s a plant, but you shouldn’t abuse it,” she reminds the audience, who seem to appreciate her lyrics.
She’s completely on fire during the track Elevate, but my favorite moment of the evening is undoubtedly when she shares a new sound like Head Above the Water, with its subsequent message of encouragement. “Even when things seem insurmountable, tell yourself it will pass! Don’t give up!” she said to appreciative applause.
“Do you remember I Can’t Breathe? Do you remember Black Lives Matter?” she asks the crowd before playing Elimination. She does a few dance steps, even does the robot at one point, in addition to dancing and jumping around the stage. One thing’s for sure, this queen has an undeniable stage presence and is tireless.
She couldn’t leave without paying tribute to women, which she does in Black Woman. “Encourage women, love them, worship them!” she declares. And addressing women directly: “Women, keep your crown on your head and keep your head up! I love you.”
She saved the best for last, including the global hit that made her world-famous, the track No Love, followed by Local, on which she claims to be an international singer and ambassador of Reggae. This gave the crowd a chance to let off steam and get ready for L’Entourloop.
I was left wanting more. An hour’s performance wasn’t enough for the spectators who came to see Queen Omega. Let’s hope she comes back for a full show very soon.
I had time to see a few minutes of Entourloop before leaving Mtelus. I didn’t know the band or the concept at all, but what I understood was that they’re a DJ duo of a certain age, who mix reggae sounds as well as dancehall, dub, ragga, downtempo and hip-hop, accompanied by a trumpet player and two MCs who liven up the evening by singing and rapping mainly in English. The room was mainly made up of French people, and on the screen behind them were animations of all kinds. When I left, people were having a blast.
Photo credit: Nuits d’Afrique
