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Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest's Dancehall Night, the first of the festival's three main shows at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Complex, was a picture of professionalism, resulting in patrons enjoying a night's worth of top-class performances in what was probably one of the best-run stage shows so far this year.

By Olivia Campbell

Save the inches of mud caused by almost a full day of heavy rains, this year's Dancehall Night could even be hailed as close to perfect. Performances and band changes were tight, the show ran like clockwork, and artistes - even those with expletive-riddled popular tunes - honoured the no-bad-word rule. The crowd was orderly and respectful of performers, security was efficient, and vendors, both those with stalls and those who traversed the venue, all did a bustling business.

Performance-wise, the last four acts on the show - headliners Elephant Man, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and veteran female deejay Lady Saw - all proved beyond a doubt that they are indeed world-class performers, each bringing their unique performance styles to the satisfaction of their fans.

Lady Saw reached into her vast repertoire of raunchy tunes, but also pulled for her current hits, and delivered the lot with a level of showmanship that indicated preparation and rehearsal. As the sole woman featured in the last half of the night, the lady from St Mary delivered a well-rounded, balanced set that really showed off her versatility as an artiste.

Vybz Kartel exploded onstage to the screams of thousands of women and the 'forwards' of the men, as he launched directly into his catalogue of R-rated tunes, skilfully avoiding swearing, a commendable feat given the content of his songs.

He primed the crowd well for 'The Doctor' Beenie Man, who obviously came to the show with much on his mind to say about gays. After his experience in England, where he was barred from performing at a London nightclub ostensibly because of his homophobic lyrics, Beenie Man brought on the Chi-Chi Man tunes with a vengeance.

After an efficient and brief band change, the 'Warlord' Bounty Killer came next, performing Killer hit after hit and receiving the most 'forwards' for the song that featured cameos by Wayne Marshall and Vybz Kartel.

But it was Elephant Man, the 'energy god' who 'dun' the show. Quite literally, he capped the night with an electrifying performance to the delight of the thousands who stayed till daybreak. His performance was preceded by an impromptu fireworks display that left a fog of smoke above Catherine Hall, building the excitement, and from the first 'Scoobay' to the very last note, screaming, waving fans heralded the deejay, scarcely allowing him to complete the lines of his many hits. By the time he pulled for Bun Bad Min' nobody in Montego Bay could doubt who stole the show.

It was a fitting end to an incredible night.
In what has almost become a rarity in dancehall shows in Jamaica, the show began promptly at 9:00 pm, beginning with a slate of young artistes appearing for the first time on the festival. Within an hour-and-a-half, newcomers Little Hero, Perfect, Jah More, Meeky and Okono made their Sumfest debuts, mostly to brief and scattered but encouraging applause. Of the new acts that performed, the performances of the 'Striperella man', I-Wayne, Yellow Man look-alike Al Beeno and singing group Voise Mail deserve mention.

The night's middle order featured performances by rising artistes Predator, Turbulence (who has adopted his mentor Sizzla's poor habit of appearing onstage with a contingent of flag-waving Bobo dreads that added nothing to the performance), Kip Rich and Delly Ranks, all of whom moved the crowd to cheers when their popular tunes were performed.

'Bad Gal' Ce'Cile struggled desperately and unsuccessfully to move the crowd, while it took an entire Wayne Marshall Town to rescue the audience from the abject boredom which set in after Stitchie, the only gospel artiste to perform left the stage. Assassin took up where Wayne Marshall left off, ever building the momentum into the final segment that featured Saw, Ele, Beenie, Bounty and Vybz.

But although the big names delivered tremendous performances, perhaps the most impacting efforts of the night came not from newcomers, but from veterans making their comebacks. Macka Diamond, who has been trying to 'buss big' for close to 15 years, used her 15 minutes onstage to prove to naysayers that she is worth her mettle. Diamond, currently the first woman deejay in four years to hit the number one spot on the charts with her Dun A'ready, was in fine form, dressed from head to toe in a dress made of laminated cash of all kinds, and captivated the crowd with her witty lyrics and magnetic stage presence.

Red Rat, also on his second (or third) wind, delivered the only truly complete set of the night; an exiting, entertaining and witty performance that featured background dancers, backup singing by label-mates, the quartet QT, amusing skits featuring police officers, and a Matrix-inspired dance-off between the Rat and an accomplice. The consummate entertainer, Red Rat, dressed in a white-lined blood-red trenchcoat over white pants and a white vest, didn't have to pull for the nasal sounds that characterised his old tunes, and delivered only his new singles including Ghetto People Good and Let The Music Play.

With this, the most 'difficult' night of the festival behind them, organisers of Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest have proven that order and civility in the dancehall are not only attainable, but make for good entertainment, as the artistes feel obligated to deliver top-class performances to their fans, who paid top dollar to see them in concert. Hopefully this trend will continue into the future and even spread to other dancehall shows, because many producers could take a page from what was Thursday night a commendable outlay of professionalism all-round.