By Leighton Williams, Staff Reporter
John Holt
IF NO hardcore deejay appeared on GT Taylor's 'Xtravaganza 'The Remix' they would not have been missed as the singers ensured that the audience at the Independence Park venue in Black River, St. Elizabeth got value for their money.
From veteran John Holt to relative newcomer Warrior King, the singers stood out despite good sets from deejays Ninja Man, Capleton, Merciless and Vybz Kartel.
Iley Dread warmed up the crowd and got good crowd response for Walk And Don't Look Back, a song that was recorded with Lady Saw. Lady Saw, however, was absent but the patrons did not mind one of Iley Dread's back-up singers filling in for the deejay.
As members of his entourage threw out CDs to patrons at the front of the stage, Iley Dread segued into You Don't Know What It's Like. He mistakenly called Black River, Santa Cruz, but he was forgiven when he performed Rise Up Mothers to end his set.
John Holt seems to get better with age.
He performed a tight set that included hits such as Carpenter, Ali Baba and Tonight. When he was done the audience wanted more, despite the fact that MC Jerry D had mentioned earlier that there would be no encores because of the number of acts on the line up. Jerry D was forced to relent, however, and Holt returned with hits like Up Park Camp and Tribal War before ending. The patrons reluctantly let him leave after about 15 minutes.
Richie Spice pranced his way through a good set. He opened up with I've Got To Keep On Moving and pleased the crowd with several other numbers. His performance of It Nuh Pretty sparked fireworks, literally. He left the stage briefly but would return to cause near pandemonium when he performed Earth A Run Red. He brought his set to a climax with Groovin My Girl. The shrieks from the women in the audience was testament to his performance.
A cameo appearance from Jah Mason preceded Chuck Fendah, who caused the usual fireworks with Rough Out Deh, The Prayer and Better Days A Come. The deejay took shots at members of parliament and declared his support for the teachers and their efforts to get a worthy salary increase.
"Who feel seh di teacher dem fi get more pay, mek mi si oonu han'." Many hands were raised in response. "Dem unfair, yuh see. Babylon a nuh police alone, a people who wear plainclothes to. Look how dem tek how much per cent and nuh waan give di teacher dem nuh more," he said before performing Better Days A Come.
Warrior King serenaded his empress Mekeda and delivered inspirational hits such as Breath Of Fresh Air and Pagans on his way to a good performance. He also paid tribute to his newborn son before leaving.
Among the deejays Vybz Kartel, Ninja Man, Merciless, Professor Nuts and Capleton were standouts.
Vybz Kartel, in tandem with Wayne Marshall, thrilled the crowd with their popular songs. Kartel also performed bits of some new songs and introduced some new talent. He would later watch from the rear of the stage as Bling Dawg had flags waving with a mixture of old and new songs.
Ninja Man was both romantic and critical. He was romantic as he serenaded his spouse but chastised the commissioner of police for statements made over his controversial handing over of a gun to Senior Superintendent of Police Reneto Adams during Sting 2002 last December.
Professor Nuts' cameo appearance was humorous, and Capleton performed well. He also restored calm to the venue when he thwarted what could have been a stampede. During his set he performed some of his more bawdy numbers as well as Jah Jah City.
Beenie Man's theatrical but lukewarm performance ended the night's proceedings.
