By Chaos, Freelance WriterDOWNSTAIRS AND Suzanne Couch were no-shows at the Village Café, Liguanea, on Christmas Eve, but that fact merely opened up the stage for a couple of fresh faces to steal the show.
Tuesday night at the café saw a number of Russian blondes and brunettes who would not admit to, but pretty much were from the Platinum nightclub in New Kingston. They offered their own brand of entertainment as they flirted, gyrated and stalked the venue.
Robert Colin, who runs the Village Café, started off the proceedings of 'Open Microphone' night at the venue by introducing Richie Patterson on guitar, Andrew Thompson on drums and Jason Raphael on vocals and keyboards. When music hits you feel no pain, Trench Town Rock and the words Just a little bit longer baby followed and the oddly enough sparsely-populated café enjoyed every moment.
Frankie Paul's Sarah followed before the band was joined on-stage by Natalie Fresh. Although she was guilty of talking a little too much when trying to hype the crowd, she did sparkle as she sang a patois version of Gee Whiz It's Christmas, a Sanchez cover, Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive and Cher's Believe, among others.
Rashida, an employee of the café who was mistakenly identified as 'Sheila' in this publication, shone as she sang Merry Christmas largely a cappella. She was teased about the mistake by Colin before he offered her performance as a gift to the patrons.
The band Emphatic, with singer Camar, was up next. Camar, who has toured Europe with the group DUP which features Jamaican Nadz was backed by Joel Sterling on guitar, Paul 'Smiley' Madden on bass, Jathneil Randall on keyboards and Neison Hardy on drums as he launched into a funk-reggae version of Jingle Bells.
A cover of Wayne Wonder's song on the Diwali followed, as did a snippet of Danny English and Egg Nogg's Party Time. "I don't know, I'm not a deejay, what am I trying to do?" Camar declared before launching into Marvin Gaye's Sexual Healing to the crowd's approval.
An original composition followed, during which he took a young lady to the stage, sank to his knees and sang his heart out for her. He certainly showed his vocals skills during a second stint on-stage, performing I Am Ready For Love and Stevie Wonder's Ribbon In The Sky.
Christmas Eve also saw a performance by the deejay/rapper duo Black Ice. Cranston Phillips - the rapper and Kevin Green impressed as they performed Told Me That She Loved Me, Player Hater, Cool Out The Murder, Just Be My Guest Tonight and God Can Make It Right, stopping a number of times to pay respect to their producer Derrick Morgan.
After the live performances it was time for Stephen Robotham to lay down some pre-recorded music at the request of Colin, crowning off what was as good a way as any to see in Christmas Day.
