SPARSE CROWD AT RAGASHANTI SHOW
It seems that not many people were looking for a ‘clean and sexy’ event to ring in 2018. Despite the presumably enticing advertising of the return of ‘auspicious’ radio personality Ragashanti, the House of Dancehall did not fill its venue for the New Year celebration. Not even by a half.
Ragashanti’s Clean and Sexy Affair was the ‘big people’ prelude to the next-day follow-up, the Bad Behaviour Beach Party, which took place at Sugarman’s Beach. Every patron who did show up was gifted with black and gold New Year’s tiaras and top hats, along with balloons and honky horn noisemakers.
Dutifully, the star of the show came out to mingle with the few promptly at 11 p.m. He then stood by the entrance, flocked by twenty or so fans who spent the next twenty minutes taking as many photos with him as they could.
NEW YEAR COUNTDOWN
Donning an impressively smooth red velvet jacket and cool black velvet shoes, Ragashanti was ready to entertain. Half an hour before the ‘big’ countdown, the deejay offered the microphone to the man of the hour. As the emcee of the evening, and the one responsible for watching the clock, Ragashanti took over selecting duties in that moment, excitedly introducing love song after love song.
As the clock struck 12, the notorious jokester hurried the countdown through the last five seconds of 2017. Ragashanti then did what he does best and launched into an impromptu speech of proclamations for 2018. He then invited two particularly excited fans on stage, where they vied for free tickets to the Bad Behaviour Beach Party by flirting intensely and unabashedly with the emcee.
Maintaining the ‘clean and sexy’ theme, the deejay started the night with a fun collection of ’70s dance and disco music before turning to an endless playlist of love songs from all ages. L.U.S.T., the headline act for the night, delivered the clean, powerful vocals they have become known for, though to a lacklustre, barely-there audience.