By Mel Cooke, Freelance WriterWESTERN BUREAU:
AT $500 a pop, 'Stainless' provided loads of variety to a nearly packed house at Mas Camp in New Kingston on Saturday night.
The variety from the turntables came courtesy of Tony 'Mentally Ill' Matterhorn, who came in after Code Red and Coppershot had ushered 'Stainless' into the downside of the midnight hour. The variety in the dancing was courtesy of the crew, including Sadiki and Ice, which appeared during Matterhorn's set. The variety in performances was through Sizzla, Bling Dawg, Elephant Man, Kid Kurrupt and Kip Ritch, as well as some unknowns for whom the cheers quickly turned to boos.
Cheers greeted Matterhorn's appearance on-stage, as he outlined the format he would follow. "Watch ya now. Likkle wine up ting a go gwaan. Den, when oonu ready fi get mad, oonu jus signal me," Matterhorn said.
However, before the 'wine up ting', he brought Greetings from Half-Pint and mixed in Super Cat's Under Pressure from the introduction, cutting to the dancehall anthem Love Punaany Bad and creating a very nice vibe inside Mas Camp in the process.
BETTER
It got better as Bounty's voice rolled out that 'Mi no long talka' and Elephant Man declared that 'Chi chi man fi get kick inna face' and Sizzla got to the point.
Matterhorn then moved up front for the first time to get the jam really rolling, Sizzla and Predator doing the trick nicely.
Even when the CD player got stuck, the Stainless crowd was patient, and it did not hurt that Matterhorn kept up a running commentary of the progress.
With that matter settled, Matterhorn decided 'mek we party likkle' and the variety continued with Cobra's Cellular, Beenie Man declaring 'See de gal dem man ya' and Bounty's Stuckie, then a leap to Backshot.
Matterhorn then went into some hip hop, which went over very well, before continuing the variety show with Tour and Beenie Man's Memories. The selector even tossed in a word for the press, saying 'Yu have some reporter love give Stainless bad write-up.'
That certainly did not apply to Saturday night's edition of the popular session, as a crew of dancers came up to the refrain 'mad, sick, head no good'.
The dancers, with Sadiki, Ice and Colo Colo at the helm, demonstrated a variety of dances, including the newest Blasé, the Sponge Bob, Hop the Ferry ,and of course, 'Removing the Head'.
Matterhorn put in a few choice cuts from Sizzla, including Thank You Mama and Can't Keep A Good Woman Down, adding to the variety and snuck in some hip hop before the entertainers took over.
ENTHUSIASTIC RESPONSE
Again, variety was the name of the game, as with Elephant Man, Bling Dawg, Kip Rich, Baby Cham, Kid Kurrupt and Sizzla spewing dance lyrics, praises to the 'Most High', girl lyrics, 'bad man' tunes and a couple of 'weed' tunes to generally enthusiastic response from the audience, the cheers climaxing in a roar whenever Sizzla touched the microphone.
There were a few boos though, when some unknowns 'lamed up' the dance.
With the artistes leaving the stage at 3:45 a.m., the trickle towards the exit became a stream, with the number of party die-hards who remained emphasising just how many patrons 'Stainless' had attracted.
Matterhorn did not leave the significant remnants high and dry, as Get Busy, Elephant Message, Sufferer and Hey Sexy Lady kept then rocking.
"Right now we jus' a gwaan play some song. From yu know sey yu no ready fi go home, jus dance," Tony Matterhorn told a willing audience.
