Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer
Pinchers - File
Sevens Clash, a party marking July 7, 2007, as well as producer and owner of The Candy Shop, Claude 'Big Stone' Sinclair's 50th birthday, began on the landmark date and ended in the early hours of yesterday morning.
At least, the music started on 7/7/2007, but with very few people at Weekenz, Constant Spring Road, St. Andrew, going up to 1:00 a.m., the guest of honour not arriving until a few minutes before 2:00 a.m. and Paul Elliott not starting the performances until nearly 3:00 a.m., the part that mattered most came on Sunday.
And Elliott literally started the performances, the singer among those who entreated the police officers who had come to close down 'Sevens Clash' for a little more time and taking charge of the microphone to sing "seek Jah Jah blessing and gwaan".
Veteran artistes
Cutty Ranks will perform at 'Real Patriot' this Friday.
Performing to recorded tracks, as did all the night's performers, Elliott ended with the musical plea to "give me back de real ting", which invoked the names of roots reggae singers Bob Marley, Burning Spear and Dennis Brown. And when the going got crowded on stage, it was dancehall veterans Pinchers and Cutty Ranks who were among those who delivered for what by then was a significantly larger, though far from large, audience. In contrast, the stage got very crowded at one point and DJ Denara, who supplied many of the songs for the night, asked "some a de artiste dem fi ease up off de soun'. Low de two big artiste fe work," he said and Cutty Ranks, who had earlier moved the audience with rapid-fire lyrics, delivered at some length, went back to the 1990s with The Bomber.
The other 'big artiste' was Pinchers, who had moved the house with Bandelero and Siddung Pon It, among others, but the man who had closed off his initial run with his Desperate Scenario and returned to howls from the audience for more to muse "some likkle fool a sen' treat an no know me" did not come back.
After Pinchers came Nitty Kutchie, who declared "gunshot me ge b..n me naa fis him" marshalled a slew of performers, before Demus took the stage in slow-walking, gravel-toned Demus fashion. There was not much response when he delivered Suzie Wong however, Demus reminded all that the song was older than many of whom were present at Weekenz.
Stacius, Prophecy, Mr. Myers (who brought down the house) and Racquel Sellers were among the others who performed at Sevens Clash, before there were selections from Mavado and Vybz Kartel and The Gleaner took its leave. On the way out, the music stopped abruptly at 4:30 a.m., suggesting that the police had put a stop to the matter.
