Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

( L - R ) Ernie Smith, Pluto Shervington

Singers Pluto Shervington and Ernie Smith put on three one-hour rounds of music, their originals liberally sprinkled with well-done cover versions, to the delight of the capacity audience at RedBones the Blues Café on Friday night.

And it was also three times around for their new combination single That's The Kind of People We Are, with which they closed after urging all to their feet on Smith's Duppy Gunman.

The brown-clad Smith's jolly dancing, quips and deep voice proved a good balance to Shervington's more restrained stance and higher-pitched voice. Shervington was dressed in full white and playing the guitar at points along with the recorded tracks from the equipment set up on a table between them. It would, of course, have been even a better presentation with a band, but that would have required the services of a crack outfit, which would have pushed the $1,500 entry fee higher.

And Beres Hammond's brief surprise appearance in round three was a valuable 'brawta'.

There were absolutely no complaints throughout from the capacity seated audience, with quite a few standing near the bar inside the open-air restaurant and night-spot.

Shaggy mode

Just past 9:00 p.m. they were in Shaggy mode, giving the deejay's Strength of a Woman and It Wasn't Me full singing treatment. Smith dropped I'd rather have a Red Stripe into Life is Just for Living, to cheers from the audience.

"How you feeling so far? Everybody have something to drink? Remember the more you drink the better we sound," Smith said to laughter. "And the better you look," he added.

Shervington, playing the guitar, stepped forward for Dat Ting Dere, the tale of a Rastafarian who settles for a pound of the forbidden meat, Smith intoning the butchers choices ("try de tripe"). Then Smith went uptempo into Pocomania Day, rocking and dipping as required with one hand raised. And it was mostly a seated, rocking audience.

The covers continued with them sharing Stick By Me, Smith encouraging "it's OK, you can sing with us" on Stick By Me. There was not much need for the urging as they coved into a medley of popular songs from Chalice, Michigan and Smiley, Half Pint, the Heptones, and Morgan Heritage, Shervington grinning as he sang I'll be down by Milk River.

That's the Kind of People We Are made its first showing as the first round ended, the tw lines and merriment greeting "the PM making a critical speech, MP behind him fast asleep".

After the half-hour break, Smith said, "we going to start this set with a song that came from the 1970s. Just one warning. Me naa run again". The song was Power and the Glory, Shervington following with his own song from "1976, just before the election", many singing along "who a leave done gone arready, who a stay better siddung steady".

More originals

There were more originals in the second round, Smith's Bend Down hitting home and Shervington singing the Lloyd Lovindeer-penned tale of Susan Long who got married to Joseph Blackwood. She went clubbing and her friends had her paged, the MC asking "is there a Long-Blackwood in here". The cheating defence Your Honour and Pitta Patta came from Shervington and Smith respectively, the singalong now well on. The guitar was gone as Smith sang One Dream and the hands went up as Shervington started the patriotic song I Man Born Ya, the lyrics adjusted to "ganja cheap ya".

No one was feeling any pain as Smith sang the girls' encouragement to "keep on doing what you're doing", his skanking making as much impact as his singing. And when Shervington started 'Ram Goat Liver' there was the night's only restart. And, once again, the round ended with That's The Kind of People We Are.

The night turned into the home stretch just past midnight with Smith singing Sunday Morning Coming Down. The did 'Elsada' together and, in a round where Smith took precedence, he dipped into the country and western bag with I was Country. More covers came and when Shervington announced that Beres Hammond was at RedBones there was pandemonium. He duly did a bit of They're Gonna Talk, the three grouped tightly to hold the harmony, and Hammond's flashing fingers urged a very cooperative audience into a chorale on Double Trouble.

He ended with a snippet of Rockaway, saying "that is what RedBones remind me of, back in the day".