Click Here to see this 20-minute ReggaeMania.com Video of Popcaan live at Rebel Nightclub 05.19.17

Congratulations to Rodeo Promo & The Agency Group, promoters of the May 19th Popcaan show at Rebel Nightclub. Lisa West and myself arrived at the venue about 10:30 PM and witnessed an extremely long and thick line up leading into the Rebel Nightclub. It’s been a while since I’ve seen so many enthusiastic young people attending a Toronto reggae show. Inside – the place was packed to capacity to see Jamaica’s ‘Unruly’-Popcaan, who took the “six” by storm despite an extremely late 2:50am start-time.

Previous to that, dj’s Firekid Steenie and MC Crazy Chris held the vibes, but the patrons were starting to get restless by time the clock struck 2 am. For whatever reason, Toronto’s Chuck Starr was the only opening act, but his songs were not recognized and the impatient crowd seemed muted and showed him no love throughout his entire 20-minute set. 

The Dj’s took over again after Chuck Starr, and I will give credit to them for working very hard to keep the crowd and vibes alive. But it was clear, no matter what they played, the people wanted to see Popcaan. And just when it appeared the crowd was going to burst, everything was forgiven and forgotten when Popcaan could be heard dj’ing on the mic live from backstage.


Popcaan would take the stage moments after sporting his signature braids and all white ensemble with lighters up. Within moments, he resurrected the tiring crowd with an abundance of energy and hit songs, and even managed to introduce to the stage, Japanese DJ Trigga Finga who got a few forwards from the crowd. He also bigged up Vybz Kartel about three times during the show, appropriate because it was Vybz Kartel who bus Popcaan.

Overall, I’d say Popcaan get’s a 7.5 out of 10 for his performance. The crowd was there ready to eat out of his hands, but the delayed start time led to many of the people in the audience already losing their voices and their enthusiasm – some even had to leave previous to the conclusion of his performance. It’s fair to say that if Popcaan had taken the stage even one hour earlier, he would have been worshiped like a God.


It’s possible that a lot of the Popcaan fans who turned out had not seen him live before in Toronto, and was just thrilled that he showed up to perform. I’m guessing Popcaan’s show lasted a bit short of an hour – it was just him and his DJ, no fancy dancers, no wining a girl volunteer from the audience on the stage, no jumping off the speakers, no accapellas, no long speech to the crowd, no mention of the passing of veteran Frankie Paul. It was just Popcaan moving left to right on the stage Dj’ing on the mic with about a hundred admirerers, media and self-acclaimed VIP’s littering the stage.

Overall, a decent night for those who didn’t mind waiting up to five hours to see Popcaan.  I am guessing that there was close to 4,000 people in attendance, and the sound, lighting system and video graphics in the Rebel Nightclub was amazing which helped make up for any inconveniences. Big up Popcaan – a real superstar in this modern age of Dancehall.

 

Pics by Ron Nelson and Lisa West for ReggaeMania.com
RM Videos to come…