By Chaos, Freelance WriterAFTER BOUNTY Killer deejayed with Jana Bent, gave a few lines from Sufferer and Look Into My Eyes, as well as promoted the December 21 staging of Hot Shots, it was time for the 'Open Microphone' segment at the Village Cafe in Barbican, St. Andrew, to continue.
The performances on Tuesday night differed wildly with respect to genres, which made the night all that more interesting. On one side there were reggae and dancehall performances and on the other there was the alternative.
On the reggae side selectors Leftside and Esco displayed their vocal prowess, Fahrenheit dropped by and Marcus I put in an appearance as did Andrew McIntyre, who is scheduled to play with Andru Donalds (of Michelle fame) tomorrow at Carlos' Cafe.
Leftside sang while Esco deejayed and both showed that they could possibly have careers outside of selecting for sound systems, with varying degrees of success. Fahrenheit jumped in more than once, as the trio sang about the age-old problem of the relationships between men and women. "A lot of men are afraid to express their feelings to their women - yuh must teck time out to tell them how tuh feel," Esco declared, before the trio launched into song, with even Fahrenheit taking a turn as deejay over a 'one drop' rhythm.
Marcus I gave a somewhat energetic, if less than impressive, performance when he took his turn on-stage. Call To Order from his album Forward To The Basics was followed by a cover of Gregory Isaacs' Night Nurse which was not nearly up to scratch. He improved somewhat on Release The Files: Word, Sound and Power as he 'skanked' on-stage, but not quite enough to really impress.
The long-haired Andrew McIntyre then put on a guitar. He used to play in one reincarnation of The Wailers, as well as with Junior Marvin, and he did an understated set that was more focused on music rather that vocals. As he delivered lyrics such as stand up for what you believe Bounty Killer, who was still in the house, could be seen smoking a 'big-head' spliff and grooving to the music.
Throughout all of this, a party was going on in one corner of the Village Cafe. Two beautiful ladies, one with a rather last large bust, danced up a storm, their rears and other body parts moving in ways that, frankly enough, should be declared illegal. Ice buckets packed with Moet floated around and beers appeared on the table where The Gleaner was sitting with astonishing regularity.
Bounty Killer was warmly greeted by Carlos of Carlos' Cafe and enthusiastically by the Latin ladies, one of whom who kept refilling his champagne glass as the band played on.
Artistes aside, the band, which featured quite a number of musicians and regular changes of personnel at all the instruments, was the true star of the night, as they displayed their prowess by shifting gears easily and smoothly among genres.
Tuesday night at the Village Café was insane and truly a blast.
On the alternative side of things, the Village Café's Tuesday night slot featured songs from Della Manley, Susan Couch, Wayne McGregor and Lydia Bennett of Mile High fame.
The artistes came to the microphone ad hoc after Jana Bent had finished her stint and the first impromptu singer, Sheila, had done a reasonable job covering Bob Marley's Nuh Woman Nuh Cry. After Jana Bent and Bounty Killer performed No Regrets to acclaim from the audience,
