Ken Boothe performs at 'Pickney Love', held at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel, in St. Andrew, on Tuesday. - Colin Hamilton

The atmosphere inside Jamaica Pegasus' ballroom on Tuesday evening, when One Third performed, was just short of volcanic.

The screams drowned out the last part of MC Elva's introduction and when the three young men stepped up with Leave The Trees there was pandemonium. With the women in a frenzy throughout, some hip-wiggling had some two yelps short of climactic proportions and they maintained the pace through Africa, the chorus of Have Mercy and increased it to end on Top A Tings to a standing ovation from a part of the crowd.

Fading memory

Good cause or not, many persons in the full house attending Pickney Love at Christmas 5 had had enough and were heading to the exit, even as Ken Boothe was being introduced. It was not a 'pickney' audience, in the sense of most people being of an age where Ken Boothe was a pleasant but fading memory and he has been very visible in the press, performing on major concerts. So it was not a matter of people not knowing about him, but a case of Rising Stars fever and a late hour.

And to his credit, Ken Boothe came out and performed his heart out to the dwindling audience, his immediate impact not overwhelming but enough to maintain a steady, pace until the real cheers went up for the horn line of Moving Away and continued for Puppet on a String. And, he was not satisfied with the response to the uptempo songs, but went on to finish with a slow number, saying "I love to sing".

The sweat on his face and the fact that he pulled his red shirt were testament to his hard work; the fact that he came on in the wake of the Rising Stars-inspired fever of One Third and braved a declining audience epitomised his fortitude. I applauded with the significant number of persons still left in what had been a full ballroom when Boothe ended, not only in appreciation of the performance but sheer respect.

He has earned it.

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