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Alick Macheso and his dancer Selemani “Majuice” Mpochi (left) on the dance floor

Brenda Phiri Entertainment Reporter
It was a night of music and dance at theCity Sports Centre on Friday as musicians took turns to entertain revellers during the 21st February Movement Gala.

The artistes seemed to be on a mission to outshine each other and the result was perfection from the majority of the musicians who rocked until around 7 o’clock on Saturday morning.

First quarter

The show started on a high note and saw mostly upcoming artistes like Final Warning and K Queen seizing their five minutes of glory before paving the way for their seasoned counterparts.

The likes of Senior Lecturer — Nicholas Zakaria — and the Khiama Boys also thrilled with their brilliant dancers.

Mathias Mhere took celebrations a gear up.

The “Favour” singer was an instant hit with the crowd when he emerged on stage.

Mhere, who was putting on a brave face despite his wife’s infidelity scandal that made news last week, put his best foot forward.

He performed four songs and true to the crowd’s expectations, he ended his act with the popular song “Judas” that is about betrayal.

The pint-sized musician seemed to be emotional while performing the song, even changing the lyrics of the song.

“Uye wandaivimba naye, amai vevana ndiye wakandibaya. Uye wandaivimba naye mwanakomana ndiye akandibaya,” he sang to the crowd’s delight.

Second Quarter

Barura Express heir Tendai Dembo also had tricks up his sleeve and portrayed growth in terms of performance.

To spice up the performance was Barura Express original member Innocent Mujintu, who recently returned to the band.

The guitarist had a long stint at Alick Macheso’s Orchestra Mberikwazvo before going solo and having a stint with Energy Mutodi.

Mujintu acknowledged formally joining the band together with his son, who was playing the lead guitar.

He said he was guiding the youngsters in making the band the success that it used to be.

Zimdancehall’s emerging star Terminator, South African-based Mlambo Express together with Comrade “Chinx” Chingaira graced the stage.

Cde Chinx, who had the help of his two wives, also incorporated comedian Kapfupi into his act.

Third quarter

Fans witnessed the return of Mbare Chimurenga Choir, who exhibited their good dance tactics on stage after midnight.

The baton was passed on to popular dancehall artiste Seh Calaz, who for unknown reasons was in the company of bouncers while on stage. He performed with confidence.

Dancehall had a challenging moment with the coming of Tocky Vibes, who failed to rise to the occasion. His performance left a lot to be desired.

Other performances came in the form of Somandla Ndebele and Jah Child, who impressed without the help of his “father” Soul Jah Love and Tryson Chimbetu, who had the most dramatic hairstyle of the night.

Last Quarter

It seemed show promoter Partson “Chipaz” Chimbodza had saved the best for last as the tempo reached its peak in the wee hours of the morning.

Traditional musician Portifa Mopo did well with his act and thrilled fans with his song “Makandiberekerei”.

Killer T could easily pass as the best dancehall act of the night as he attracted wild cheers throughout his act.

It was, however, evident that the “Chairman” has a lot to learn in terms of discipline.

He incited fans to a near stampede when he implied that he was being forced to leave the stage at the peak of his act when in fact his time was up.

Missiles flew on stage as a result, prompting Killer T to be recalled.

The next performer was Alick Macheso and while the bar had been raised to dizzy heights, he surpassed the mark.

Orchestra Mberikwazo ruled the roost, defying the notion that sungura music has lost ground on the local music scene.

Besides his music “Ba Shero”,as he is affectionately known, has his dancers’ “unbelievable” stunts to thank for adding zest to his act.

Jah Prayzah, Winky D and Soul Jah Love also took the crowd by storm, even though their performances were mediocre.

Soul Jah Love had energy although revellers were not familiar with most of the songs that he sang.

Winky D is the king of Zimdancehall, that is a given.

But he did not make the expected impact.

As usual, the Ninja president made a grand entrance after his manager, Jonathan Banda, made the stage crew jump around.

Winky D did not raise the bar to his usual dizzy heights as he keeps performing the same old hit songs in the usual monotonous manner but his collaboration with Soul Jah Love was well received.

The curtains came down on the show with Sulumani Chimbetu’s performance and as is norm, he gave the best of Dendera music.