to be alive and living in Bermuda.

The concert attracted a huge crowd and boasted three top-quality groups. And a word to the wise promoter -- culture concerts and soca concerts always sell tickets because they promote feel-good vibes that appeals to the younger and older audience alike.

Unlike what I've seen at other shows in St. David's, the promoters had the good sense to cordon off the part of the field. So as opposed to having the sound -- and the audience -- scattered to the outlying edges of the cricket field, there was a closer, fuller feel to the crowd which always adds to the overall concert ambiance.

The concert, which was supposed to start at 10 p.m., didn't kick off until about 11.30 p.m. -- just when people were starting to get restless. But to Playboy's credit, the prerecorded music was so sweet everyone was bubblin' anyway. Samba African drummers came to the stage and played background to a short show by Spence Hair Design on "natural hair for the year 2000'.

The musical part of the show kicked off with Iley Dread, who took the stage with his waist-length dreadlocks swaying as he waved an Ethiopian flag.

The band playing the backup music was consistently excellent throughout the evening. However, they were the saving grace for Iley Dread.

His music was a bit flat, in both senses of the word -- his voice, especially in the beginning, was slightly off-key and as an opening act he did very little to lift the energy of the crowd.

Iley Dread had very good stage presence, however, and his music evened out when he sang "In My House''. The lyrics to his original pieces were quite powerful, but nevertheless he should've kept his performance shorter since the crowd seemed to get bored with him toward the end.

Ras Shiloh followed next, and showed the crowd "how it's done'' in a near-flawless performance. He took the mike, resplendent in a white suit, his dreadlocks covered with a red, gold and green scarf.

Ras Shiloh's voice is not unlike that of the late, great Garnett Silk -- although he definitely doesn't come off as a copy. His style is all his own, and his voice had a really beautiful quality to it.

He maximised the similarity with Garnett Silk to a good effect by singing a few of his songs, including "Love Is The Answer''.

Waving his hands in the air as he captivated the crowd with the strength of his voice and his lyrics, Ras Shiloh performed hits such as "Babylon You're Doomed'', "Unto Zion We Go'' and my own personal favourite "Are You Satisfied''.

He rounded off his top-notch performance with an encore, acapella version of "Change Gonna Come'', and left the crowd calling for more.

Cocoa Tea's performance was clearly the highlight of the evening. This is a man who's been singing for more than a quarter of a century -- and proves that practice makes perfect.

You could hear the seasoned tones of Cocoa Tea's mellow voice before he appeared onstage, singing Bob Marley's "Rastaman Chant''.

Cocoa Tea has had so many hits over the years that he could bubble from one to the next without even putting a strain on his arsenal. He sang hits like "Love Me Truly'', "Riker's Island'' and "Hurry Up and Come''.

He proved himself the consummate performer by how he interacted with the audience, telling them to come with `more fire, more FYAH!''. The crowd was eating out of the palm of his hand throughout his entire performance.

Cocoa Tea finished with an inspiring rendition of Marley's "One Drop'' before dropping his own "Good Life''.

There was a brief intermission before the headliners, Morgan's Heritage, and the junior Morgan Heritage group LMS performed.

To be frank, Cocoa Tea would've worked much better as a grand finale. Don't get me wrong - Morgan Heritage music and the message sounded good. But the audience didn't know the songs that well, and Morgan's Heritage just wasn't able to please the crowd the same way Cocoa Tea did.

They performed some of their smash hits like "Black Man's Paradise'', "Earthquake'' and did a great cover of Capleton's "Jah Jah City''.

However, the lead singer spent far too much time talking and preaching instead of delivering the music. 'Nuff respect to the Rastafari religion, but the message should come through the music -- not through a sermon at 3 a.m.

By the time they reached their grand finale "Don't Haffi Dread'' at almost 4 a.m., I felt like I'd been held hostage. The audience had thinned to a quarter of the size and no one but die-hard fans were left.

At any rate, I left St. David's weary but happy. Headliners Morgan's Heritage were not as strong as I had hoped, but Cocoa Tea and Ras Shiloh more than picked up the slack. The overall vibe was sweet - an absolute blessing.

Big respect to Canadian producers Kings of Kings and local promoters Outlaw Productions, since this was Playboy's first concert effort. The audience definitely got their money's worth and were able to top off their holiday weekend with a set that was pure niceness.

KIM DISMONT ROBINSON ENTERTAINMETN ENTERTAINERS ENT REVIEW REV