( l - r ) Della Manley, Robinson

Think of Sunday evening's concert at Temple Hall Estate, St Andrew, as a rock sandwich. Not rock as in the ones remaining in the ruins that formed part of the beautiful backdrop for the performers, of course, but musically 'tough' rock, nonetheless, Gibby's guitar was on the leading edge of the experience.

However, despite being named 'Rock U', the outright hard rock came at the beginning and end of the approximately two-and-a-half hour concert. In between, were the ska of the hornsmen, led by Nambo Robinson; the softer, lyrically potent delivery of David M and Della Manley; rockers of Sophia Brown; De Franco's wistful longing and roots style dub of Spiritual.

The performances were short; hence, inevitably, there was a sense of having the tastebuds awakened without the palate being sated. However, the variety of the musical fare prevented that blurring feeling which comes from a series of truncated performances in the same genre.

And the members of the small audience scattered at white-clad tables on the lawn seemed to appreciate the music, bursting into cheers where warranted (notably for Spiritual and his Freedom Fighters) and listening attentively to and then applauding David M and Della Manley.

An especially interesting aspect of the 'Rock U' was a near rerun of the line-up, Nambo Robinson, Spiritual and Della Manley recalled for a second, shorter stint on stage, before Gibby put the rock lid on the musical sandwich.

Robinson was his jolly self, switching between trombone and vocals, singing "strange things happen in the Congo Land and I think it is unfair", then, along with his fellow hornsmen, taking a gentle voyage to the Far East.

David M is far from being an outstanding singer, but he is an excellent writer and possesses an expressive voice which, along with his body language, carries the message of his slow songs well. Sitting at the keyboard, he played as he sang Lest We Forget, written when Nelson Mandela was released from prison, then stood to sing as the band carried the music.

Sophia Brown was brash with her reggae rockers, informing "love you baby" and declaring "I'm hungry for the spotlight/shine the light on me". Hips and lips emphasised her assessment "you give me that good love".

Della Manley speaks in an off-hand, almost self-deprecating manner onstage. When she starts to sing, though, there is nothing casual about her delivery. There was a combination for the rockers of If I follow my heart and her interpretation of Fade Away hit home, while It's OK was given the ska treatment.

Spiritual, combining the repetitive approach of Burning Spear with the nasal intonation of Pablo Moses on thumping reggae rhythms, was a hit with the audience, from opening with a snippet of Culture's Conqueror. He also defined who he does not want in My World.

'Rock with me'

DeFranco moved from back-up duties to do It's No Fun Anymore, falsetto scatting emphasising his relationship blues.

Then came the reruns and the extended closing rock, complete with leaping guitarists to the invitation "rock with me tonight".

Nancy and Italee, both dressed for the rocking occasion, hosted 'Rock U'. The latter was upbeat about the turnout, telling the members of the audience not to look at the spaces between them. "Next time we keep this show, you won't have space to move," she said optimistically.