By RHONDOR DOWLAT Wednesday, March 26 2008

MOBS 2, Chaguaramas came alive with worship and praise on Easter Sunday evening as Grammy-winning group Mary Mary took centre stage.

The singers, sisters Erica and Tina Campbell, thrilled local gospel fans as they belted out hit after hit, including more popular tracks such as “Heaven”, “In The Morning” and “Shackles.” The MOBS 2 concert, Ultimate Praise, got going shortly after the 5.30 pm scheduled time with MC Jamie Thomas of Tempo getting the attention of the gathering crowd with his familiar “stage charm.” He wasted no time in introducing local supporting act Samuel Dyer, who opened the proceedings with worship songs.

Sons of Zion followed with Reggae-worship renditions. This prepared the atmosphere for Rev Angela Williams who lit up the stage with her popular “Lion of Judah” and a medley of traditional songs.

Former Young King Sean Daniel had the audience clapping, dancing and singing along with his selections including his gospels hits “No Ring No Ting” and “Waving Ting.”

Although a few technical hitches caused disruptions in the flow of the programme, that hardly put a damper on the crowds who were pumped up and enjoying the stage performances.

In one of the high points of the evening, local gospel star Jadee had the largely youthful crowd going wild with his high-energy songs.

There was also lusty applause for Winsie-Ann Cuffie. The teen singing sensation did a performance complete with laser lights, beautifully adorned and meticulously choreographed dancers along with fire works.

Mary Mary, who arrived at the start of Winsie-Ann’s performance, remarked that they were particularly impressed with her “music, stage performance and beautiful spirit”. They briefly met with Winsie-Ann and asked their manager to meet with her and her manager in a more detailed way. This he did, at the venue, the same night.

Winsie-Ann and her manager did not divulge much about the discussions, except to say that it was “a nice meaningful talk with the sharing of some information and materials related to Winsie-Ann’s work and ministry that Mary Mary had requested”.

Isaac Blackman and the Love Circle treated the crowd to selections composed by their late father Ras Shorty I. Then Isaac launched into his hit, “To The Ceiling”, sednding the crowd into a total frenzy.

The stars of the evening Mary Mary received thunderous applause as they arrived on the stage Dressed in red, orange and gold, the talented duo belted out their hits in quick succession. As they sang “Joy Joy”, “I’m a Believer: and “Ordinary People” the audience sang along.

The energetic siblings paused briefly to greet the TT crowd, expressed their appreciation for the invitation and introduced their youthful-looking mother, whom they indicated taught them to sing.

And indeed, mom showed that she was a very qualified teacher. She teased the cheering crowd with a verse of “one of her favourites”.

Mary Mary kept the remaining 45 minutes of their one-hour presentation packed with highly popular tracks , including “In the Morning”, “Falling In Love”, “Heaven” and “Can’t Give Up Now”. For their finale they sang “Shackles” — every single person at MOBS2 was dancing and singing as the gifted sisters brought the curtains down with this international super-hit.

MC Jamie Thomas was left with the simple task of wishing the departing crowd “a happy Easter.”

Minister in the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs Donna Cox, attended the event and actively joined in the praise.