Sweet and sour 'Adom Praiz'

So American Grammy Award winning gospel artiste, Kirk Franklin eventually came to mesmerise patrons at this year’s Adom Praiz concert held last Saturday at the Perez Dome in Accra.

Many of those at the well-publicised show were, however, disappointed at the poor organisation that left them holding tickets but not able to get into the hall of performance due to lack of adequate space to accommodate all ticket holders.

The event which attracted thousands of patrons, started on a very good note at about 6.30pm. About an hour later, the supposed 14,000 -seater auditorium could no longer take more people who wanted to have a time of praise in God’s presence.

That however did not deny those in the auditorium the opportunity to have a good time.

The night was set rolling with contemporary gospel artiste, Cwesi Oteng and his Flo Riva band hitting the stage to set the right mood for about six hours more of eclectic performances from the other artistes.

Oteng got the audience to sing along with him to some of his popular tunes like Mercy, Kabiyesi and God Dey Bless Me.

Ohemaa Mercy was the next to perform. Clad in an all yellow outfit and armed with her powerful voice, she gave the audience a reason to appreciate why she is touted not only as a good singer but a great performer as well.

She rendered songs like Wobeye Kese, Edin Jesus and Menwu to the delight of the audience.

Cecilia Marfo has come to be known as a great worshipper and she did not disappoint on that score. She got nearly everyone in the auditorium into a worship mood and shouts of Chooboi introduced her popular Afunumu Ba song that got the audience into a frinzied mood.

No Tribe started their performance with Nyame Ye and the group’s leader, Nacy made the stage his own. In a typical ‘jama’ style, the group dished out songs like Aba Mu Awie to thrill the audience.

The climax of their performance came when they introduced a new dance move called ‘Crab Dance.’

The hour finally came and Kirk Franklin arrived on stage on the wings of his Lovely Day song. Wearing a white T shirt under a black jacket, he performed songs like I Know That I Can Make It, Imagine Me and There Is Something about the Name Jesus.

In his bid to fulfil a promise that he would show his Azonto skills, Kirk invited some fans to come compete with him on stage. Twisting and throwing his fists in the air, the American proved that he had learnt a thing or two about the popular dance.

He left the stage with his popular song God Like You and assured the audience that no matter what life brings up, 'there is something about the name Jesus'that still gives hope for a brighter day.’

Patrons acknowledged that the performances on the night were commendable but poor organisation, which included poor sound quality at some points, took some shine off the show.

Some disgruntled patrons vented their anger at the organisers for failing to give them what they had paid for.

By Gifty Owusu-Amoah/Graphic Showbiz/Ghana