WESTERN BUREAU:
A SUDDEN end to 'Dance Hall Night' and no explanation from the promoters or their representatives left thousands of Reggae Sumfest fans at Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre, Montego Bay, in confusion early Friday morning.
DJ Capleton, the 'fire-man', was in his element just before 5:00 a.m. with thousands of patrons packed in the venue, when there was a power outage which resulted in the artiste and band members leaving the stage. The Gleaner was informed that fires lit by patrons caused damage to power cables, but none of the Sumfest directors could confirm this.
Up to the time of the power cut, Capleton was in full flight, as the venue was transformed into a veritable bonfire with thousands of patrons brandishing lighters, aerosol cans, lit pieces of card board and cloths; anything they could get their hands on. Like most of the artistes, who performed before him, Capleton chastised homosexuals, lesbians, people who engaged in oral sex and women who had multiple sex partners.
From food to clothes
Tight stage management saw the show, which started about 14 minutes late, ending well before the 5:30 a.m. deadline.
Again this year, Catherine Hall was in tip-top condition with lush grass. The nearly 80 stalls, which ringed the compound sold everything from food to clothes to books and household items, added splashes of colours and light to the venue.
The huge stage was draped in hundreds of yards of colourful 'Reggae To Wear' material and for the first time was without the usual painted backdrop of a reggae icon or the Reggae Sumfest logo.
As for the performances, there was hardly any difference from previous years when the DJs, with precious little to say, launched attack, after monotonous attack, on "b.... boys and lesbians".
Intelligent lyrics
The inclusion of singers Paul Elliot and Junior Kelly was refreshing, as both stood out with conscious, clean and intelligent lyrics. That they were well recei-ved by the predominantly dancehall crowd spoke volumes of the skill with which they handled their craft.
Elliot's stint was short, but he used the time on stage well, while Kelly, who had a longer stint, also scored well.
In addition to Capleton, Bounty Killer, Baby Sham, Mr. Lex and Madd Anju went over well.
Escorted on stage by a number of his Rastafarian colleagues, Capleton immediately commanded the attention of the fans as he reeled off hit after hit, punctuating his pauses with shouts of "Slew them".
In contrast the crowd was respectfully quiet during Bounty Killer's nearly hour-long stint, as they listened to his rapid delivery, shouting their approval and firing off fire crackers at intervals.
Dressed in a black suit, white shirt, a fashionable short black tie and a stocking cap, the lanky Bounty Killer warned the sound technicians to turn up the sound in his monitor as "he was finished with being a nice guy" and he was there to work.
In a performance punctuated with fire works, Mr. Lex was his usual dapper self in a black leather outfit complete with a short jacket, head wrap and a mask, which he did not wear on stage.
Baby Sham cleverly used the first verse of the National Anthem to introduce Make Jamaica Feel Proud, but this came after another of his trade mark X-rated performances.
Worm Dem Crew, a four-man aggregation that featured Captain Barkey and Wickerman, which came on stage before 11:00 p.m., was the first act to really get the crowd involved with verbal jousting between the two top DJs. Madd Anju was up to his usual antics, spicing up his clever lyrics by bringing on first a dwarf then an over-sized dancer on stage.
Mr. Vegas has shown a lot of maturity and did well with a cover version of Lauryn Hill and Bob Marley's Turn Your Lights Down Low and his own Heads High.
Paul A. Reid
