The Night Takoradi’s ribs went cracking

When event organizing giants, Charterhouse, partnered with MTN to host Takoradi’s first ever Laughs and Music series, they must have bargained for some level of success but the crowd that thronged the Akroma Plaza on Saturday October 6 must have been awe-inspiring.

When the show was well underway and the auditorium had reached its elastic limit, there were well over 600 hopefuls standing around the venue wishing they had defied the Takoradi event goers manta of ‘buying tickets at the venue’.

Many learnt the hard way that when an event is powered by Charterhouse and you really want to attend, then buying your ticket before the day of the event beats being disappointed or being ripped off by unscrupulous people who buy their ticket at regular prices and hike up the prices for desperate people.

Now if the venue situation in Takoradi had been different from what it was on Saturday then perhaps a lot more people would have been given the chance to witness some of the most hilarious people in standup comedy. Unfortunately there are not many options available to event organisers in the Western Regional capital of Takoradi – Akroma Plaza happens to be the best option and the capacity is limiting.

The show itself was exciting to put it mildly. Funny Face was on a roll all night long both as MC and as back-up vocalist/dancer for Okyeame Kwame’s performance. His new rover was never far from his joke but when he went to join OK to sing “Faithful” the whole house came down with a roar. It was an amazingly hilarious moment that aptly combined comedy with music as the show promised.

Okyeame Kwame himself seems mighty impressed with the rousing response his name received. Soon as Funny Face mentioned “let’s welcome the rap dacta Okyeame Kwame!!” the audience screamed in unison. He performed songs including Woso, Faithful, Masan Aba and some songs from his Mr. Versatile Album.

Hogan was on point like as he was at the 1014 Laugh’s in Accra while Klint da drunk and Akpos delivered on everything that that event promised and more. One has seen Klint on several occasions but he always delivers fresh material ensuring his audience has a good laugh.

His joke on the accounts of a deaf and dumb girl at the court after she was raped by three guys was hilarious. The joke itself was preceded by a stern advice to men not to indulge in rape of any kind. Other jokes including the reaction of women to rich men no matter how ugly he is ensure the audience a good fun time.

Akpos was the toast of the night by far, he was hilarious with his jokes on the mentally challenged and their antics. For the first time, he came into the audience to interact with them as part of his act and when he eventually did his Naija version of the popular Azonto dance, not many people were left seated. The whole auditorium was on its feet in excitement.

VIP was the last act on the night and as usual they took the audience into another dimension of excitement. The audience was left wanting more even when the show ended close to midnight.

Charterhouse has given hints that they the 1014 Laugh’s will be staged in Kumasi before the year ends, if that happens then those in the Ashanti Region can also share in all the fun and laughter associated with the Laugh’s and Music series.