see Reggae star Shabba Ranks in the flesh.

Excitement and anticipation filled the humid air under a tent, designed to hold just over half that number, at the BAA Gymnasium last Friday night.

But the Jamaican dancehall king, who earlier that day promised to give a "breathtaking'' performance, failed to deliver.

And many of his fans left the concert, after its abrupt ending at 12.30 a.m., disappointed.

The concert, which began 40 minutes after its 9 p.m. scheduled start time, kicked off with brilliant, high-energy performances by some of Bermuda's young talent.

Backed by top local group Jahstice, choreographer Suzette Harvey and three performers from Patricia Pogson's "For Coloured Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enough'' opened the show appropriately with Bob Marley's "One Love'' in a cappella.

They were followed by Whitney Institute's promising duo 15-year-old Tiny T and 16-year-old Junior Rusty.

The talented DJs, who won the Teen Talent Show and will appear in "Right On'' magazine's upcoming issue, brought the crowd -- especially those 16 and younger, to life.

Tiny T was later joined by Big Man in their unique rendition of Bob Marley's "Africa Unite''.

But it was Tiny T's "Dirty Box'' mix which brought loud shrieks of excitement from youngsters in the crowd.

Another display of Bermuda's talent young people came from local singer Aldin Raynor who performed a few original songs before dazzling the audience with tunes such as "You're Breaking My Heart'' and "I'll Always Love You'' in Reggae style.

The local acts were completed by Ali Malik who gave the crowd a taste of his own work -- "Don't Cry'' and a few remakes from the 70s to present, including the Temptations "Just My Imagination'' and Bobby Brown's "If It Ain't Good Enough''.

Despite the impressive local entertainment, the audience appeared restless.

And by 10.30 p.m. some of the youngsters made their impatience known by shouting "no more'' and "bring on Shabba''.

After a 15-minute intermission, it was clear that the crowd was not prepared to tolerate another act, if it was not Shabba.

Chants of "Shabba, Shabba, Shabba'' rang through the hot, thick air as the Jamaican star's band prepared on stage.

With the first note from the band at 11 p.m., some in the crowd prematurely screamed and clapped for Shabba.

But it was another half hour before the Reggae star appeared.

This, however, did not seem to bother the crowd who were clearly impressed with Shabba's band and back-up singers.

In fact, Shabba's brother Leopold Hartley stole the show with his special version of "Spanish Lullaby''.

As the audience was mesmerised by the band, the man they had been waiting for appeared.

Dressed in dark-green, a black cap with red rim, and black boots, the bona fide star eased into his act with "Housecall''.

This naturally brought cheers and applause from the crowd.

Taking off his cap, Shabba moved smoothly into his hit "Wicked In Bed''.

Before performing "Reality'', the serious 26-year-old performer slowed down the pace a bit to give a few words of advice to the crowd.

"Black people must love black people,'' he said. "Blacks must know where they come from.'' The dancehall king was joined by two female dancers as he continued his performance with "Trailer Load of Girls''.

Singing "False Pretender'', Shabba was joined by his brother who sang the part originally sung by Johnny Gill and Maxi Priest.

Shabba also sang "Murderer'' and "Ting-A-Ling-A-Ling'' to the delight of youngsters in the audience.

About 50 minutes after coming on, he finished with "Slow and Sexy'' and a message for the crowd "Let your sex be safe''.

After standing in mud for almost four hours, Shabba's performance was like the state of concert-goers' shoes, less than desirable. -- Carol Parker .