Fourth Street Sisters, above, sing in 2003 at the Pegasus Hotel on New Year's Eve. - Rudolph Brown/Staff Photographer RIGHT: Leroy Sibbles gets busy shortly after midnight as patrons at the Jewels Resort on Port Henderson Road in Portmore, St. Catherine, rang in the new year. - Michael Sloley /Freelance Photographer THE PEGASUS
FOURTH STREET Sister ushered in the 2K3 at the Jamaica Pegasus with a medley of religious choruses, which saw the packed dance floor in the Grande Ballroom singing along. The trio performed songs such as This Little Light of Mine, I Love That Man From Galilee and When The Saints Go Marching In.
With a talent which may be peculiar to Jamaicans, the audience saw no difference between the religious tunes that were being sung and the secular ones which had just preceded them. As far as they were concerned, they were having a grand time and so the room was suffused with sound. Fourth Street Sister made a broader bridge between the religious and the secular when they began to chant Higher level! Higher level! Higher level mek wi push out di devil!.
The group had begun performing half an hour before the new year, following music being played by the Peter Phillips Disco. As no live band was present for the cabaret performances, the trio and later A. J. Brown, performed to tracks being played by the disco.
When the group got to the stage most persons had finished dinner and were on the dance floor grooving to the 1970s and 1980s music being played. The group kept most of the audience on the floor, performing music from the same period. As midnight grew closer, the noise in the room grew louder. Interestingly, at almost midnight Fourth Street Sister decided to sing Everything Crash, which was hopefully not an omen for the new year.
By 11:59 p.m. little more than noise makers could be heard in the room. At just a few seconds to midnight Norma Brown Bell began the countdown and the room joined in, with the noise growing to a crescendo with each passing second. Finally at midnight, several balloons were sacrificed at the altar of the new year.
Although the party was a decent one, it was certainly not one that would go down in the annals of history. The main performer, A. J. Brown did not go down particularly well with the audience, more because of the songs he chose rather than his performance. The audience only responded well to When You Love and The Righteous Brothers' Unchained Melody. By 2:00 a.m. most of the partiers had cleared out of the venue.
JEWELS, PORTMORE
The good thing about the New Year's Eve party at the Jewels Resorts in Portmore was that once inside, patrons could go outside then re-enter. The bad thing, depending on how you look at it, was that there was not a huge crowd on hand to enjoy what was a spirited yet mellow party.
It was an event for mature people, couples mostly, and chivalry in its finest form was on display. Men rushed to pull out chairs for their women and raced to get food for them. Melody One Disco also reinforced this atmosphere with the string of old hits they played from 8:00 p.m. until it was showtime at 1 a.m., where headline acts Tinga Stewart and Leroy Sibbles did their pieces.
Though scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m., even at minutes to 11 there were only a handful of people inside to enjoy the several John Holt, Delroy Wilson and Ken Boothe selections plus several others which were played. It was only after 11 p.m. that patrons began to enter the venue in huge numbers. It was a rush to get into Jewels, as if they just wanted to enter before the midnight mark caught them outside.
The result of this was a sudden rush for the tables and chairs that were available, but the staff made sure that these needs were met quickly. They could be seen hustling around for more and they soon seated those who needed it. The venue was not as packed as it could have been however, so there was adequate space for dancing and mingling.
At five minutes to midnight, master of ceremonies Leighton Rattray engaged the entire venue, and couples that were seated were by then on their feet preparing for the countdown as well as the champagne that was to come. On the midnight mark, instead of traditionally screaming 'Happy New Year' to everyone, dozens of couples locked lips together and hugged tightly to embrace the new year.
There was no great show of excitement, no screaming or shouting, no fireworks or fire crackers - just some mature couples who wanted to have a good time without going overboard.
Manager of the resort Mrs. Astra Williams told The Gleaner that this was the 10th staging of the event, but last year's crowd was bigger. "It seems that people spent more on the Christmas celebrations than on New Year's celebrations," she explained.
THE HILTON
The Hilton Ballroom was a stark contrast to the Jonkunnu Lounge on Tuesday night. While the Jonkunnu Lounge was abuzz with excitement and was almost full to capacity, the Ballroom never had more than 20 persons. In fact, for most of the night it remained that way but the vibes at the Jonkunnu was good until the end.
At midnight when the crowd of the Jonkunnu rang in the new year with much fanfare, there were only a handful of patrons at the ballroom.
However, the Jonkunnu lounge was a partygoers dream. Music from all eras graced the turntable of deejay Johnny Kool. He played several contemporary dancehall songs. With the audience enjoying themselves, the disc jock played some old tunes from the 1970s disco era.
At minutes to two, he announced that singjay Wayne Marshall would be gracing the club. This announcement was made twice but the audience, who were enjoying themselves already, did not seem to mind.
At 2:00 a.m., Wayne Marshall along with fellow deejay, Elephant Man appeared. The crowd gathered around with several young ladies enclosing the artistes.
Marshall greeted the patrons by wishing them a Happy New Year. With that done he launched into his popular song Overcome. With the crowd clapping to the beat of the Diwali, he handed over to Elephant Man who immediately requested the 'Higher Level' rhythm. He also taught the audience how to do a new dance called 'The Ride By'.
Elephant Man ended his stint by calling for unity among the deejays.
After that both he and Elephant Man danced for a few minutes before leaving the venue.
TERRA NOVA HOTEL
The medium-sized crowd that gathered in the beautifully decorated lawns of the Terra Nova Hotel had a wonderful time ringing in the new year to flowing champagne and live music played by the Now Gen' Band.
Although the event was held under a not-so-starry-sky that threatened to let loose showers in the earlier part of the show, it did not put much of a damper on the event and patrons welcomed the opportunity to have a good time.
The band took those present through various stylings of music and at 10:30 p.m. it brought patrons back to a smooth and soothing period in reggae's history with Too Experienced which practically opened the dance floor and got patrons grooving to the beat.
A melodious Barry Biggs took the stage at 10:40 p.m. and belted out Wide Awake In A Dream. With excellent backing from the band he segued into another appropriate number, Just Don't Wanna Be Lonely.
Later the band again proved its worth by playing hits such as I've Got Sunshine.
Soca was not left out of the mix and old and new hits were featured. 'Winning numbers' such as Tiney Winey were played and resulted in persons moving in droves from their seats and onto the dance floor.
When the band return from a break, it brought back a medley of well-known hits such as I'm Going To Tell You Goodbye.
At five minutes to midnight the jubilant crowd made its way to the centre of the dance floor, champagne and whistles in tow as they toasted in the new year.
New talent Tessan Chin's 'New Year performance' was something to behold. She gave beautiful renditions of To Sir With Love and Tonight You Are Mine Completely.
The band was truly entertaining and overall the event was a nice way to ring in 2003.
