Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Reggae Sumfest - the good and not-so-good

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Reggae Sumfest - the good and not-so-good

    MONDAY MUSING
    Yasmine Peru
    Monday, July 27, 2009
    Reggae Sumfest is now a memory and there are lots of pleasant ones, too. Despite a recession, the attendance on all three nights was unsurpassed, with many speculating that the crowd on Dancehall Night in particular surpassed all others in the festival's 17-year history. However, up to Saturday night, the organisers had no actual figures available to support this theory.
    Over the three nights, there were some great performances from both local and international acts, and what was surely one of the big surprises of the festival was deejay Bounty Killer's very mature performance, which have his fans declaring that "Killa tek Dancehall Night". Whether he did or not is debatable, but Mr Rodney Pryce certainly outdid himself. Recalling the treatment meted out to him last year when he collected a couple 'boos', a smiling Bounty noted, "Oonu give it to me last year", after which he totally redeemed himself with a performance that he dedicated to his mother, Miss Ivy. Well done, Miss Ivy last son.
    Unfortunately, however, the baton that Bounty passed to his own 'son', Mavado, slipped and fell right out of the deejay's hand. Mavado just couldn't keep up to the blistering pace set by his 'dad'.
    International act Ne-Yo, who has enjoyed success with his 2008 album Year of the Gentleman, proved that he is quite a performer and did a set that has put him in contention for the top performer of Reggae Sumfest 2009. But he has a fierce battle for this crown with the likes of Tarrus Riley, Queen Ifrica, Coco Tea, Beenie Man, Etana, Lady Saw and Bounty Killer.
    Beenie was crowned King on Dancehall Night and for him that was special. "The crowning and everything was great, but what made it so special to me was that it took place on the birthday of His Imperial Majesty, Haile Selassie," he told us in an interview the following day.
    On the downside, there was the unfortunate sound problems that plagued Toni Braxton's performance. Patrons just couldn't hear. Petite with a well -sculpted body and a costume designed to show off her assets, Toni looked fabulous on stage and when her voice did come through, it sounded good, but it was just too low and the sound from the band was just too loud. We spoke to one of the persons who we were told "own three quarters of the sound equipment on stage" and his explanation was that she was using a lot of voiceovers. But that still doesn't really explain why the sound was so low.
    And then there was the 'incident' with Etana, who was called up on stage (in a grinch-green dress) to perform with Toni. Etana was handed a microphone that seemed to be dead, and when patrons started shouting that they weren't hearing her, she attempted to borrow Toni's mic, but Toni would have none of that. She possessively pulled her mic to her chest, after which poor Etana was ushered off stage. End of that saga.
    Apart from Beenie Man, the choices for closing acts proved wrong - neither Jah Cure nor Inner Circle could hold the crowd on Friday and Saturday night respectively. On Friday, people started streaming out after Ne-Yo and following Queen Ifrica's impressive performance, the real exodus started. On Saturday night, the closing acts seemed to have been Junior Gong and Nas. Inner Circle did a good set, but people just weren't interested in staying around after 7 o'clock Sunday morning to see them.
    Tito Jackson, brother of Michael, came with his band and gave the government their moment of glory in the spotlight with the presentations made to him as the sole representative of the Jackson family. Perhaps the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival could invite Tito and his band to perform next year on the festival's small stage.
    And people are still asking why did Da'Ville throw down the mic after he performed on Saturday night and then refuse to take pictures with the Digicel people.
    Nothing beats professionalism and even if - as his publicist Ray Alexander stated - Da'Ville was upset about the fact that he performed at 9:00 pm to a scanty venue and he felt his $65,000 worth of props didn't work, partly because of last-minute hiccups and lack of communication between the organisers and front of stage, this level of disrespect is intolerable.
    Da'Ville, Sumfest has lasted 17 years and is still going strong and all indications are that the festival will be around for at least another 17.

    http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magaz...set=5#comments
    "Jamaica's future reflects its past, having attained only one per cent annual growth over 30 years whilst neighbours have grown at five per cent." (Article)

  • #2

    Comment


    • #3
      These photos seem to indicate that BEENIE MAN took DANCEHALL NIGHT

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Bricktop View Post
        These photos seem to indicate that BEENIE MAN took DANCEHALL NIGHT
        Dancehall night? Thats the name of the woman on stage?
        "Jamaica's future reflects its past, having attained only one per cent annual growth over 30 years whilst neighbours have grown at five per cent." (Article)

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Lazie View Post
          Dancehall night? Thats the name of the woman on stage?
          When yuh get fi dagger TONI BRAXTON pon stage what else is left?

          Comment


          • #6

            Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe. Thomas Paine

            Comment


            • #7
              But a wha do Lazie?

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Bricktop View Post
                When yuh get fi dagger TONI BRAXTON pon stage what else is left?
                By the look of things, him look like him a struggle.
                "Jamaica's future reflects its past, having attained only one per cent annual growth over 30 years whilst neighbours have grown at five per cent." (Article)

                Comment


                • #9
                  According to Irish & Chin,

                  VYBZ KARTEL, BOUNTY, ELEPHANT, BEENIE AND FLIPPA TOOK DANCEHALL NIGHT AT SUMFEST

                  Vybz Kartel underlined his dominance as dancehall's top act with a brilliant performance at Reggae Sumfest 2009 this morning. Hitting the stage at a few minutes to 5 a.m., the EME deejay of the year immediately energised the crowd with his trademark line from his recent number one, Money on My Mind: 'idlers mi no have no time fi yu'. And the crowd almost lost its collective mind.
                  A deafening roar erupted from the crowd and huge forward rolled over the sea of bodies in the venue as he hit the stage dressed in an Arab costume. He blazed with a money medley that included Money Fi Spend, Trailer Load a Money, Million Dollar by a Morning and Dallas, each forward eclipsing the size of the previous one.
                  Jahvinci of the Portmore Empire distinguised himself with a well-timed performance as well picking his spots to deliver his monster hits, Watch Yu Friends and Rich, and earning big forwards and kudos from the press. Gaza Indu stumbled and fell during her performance of Kartel Completely when The Teacha attempted to give her a backas and she fell on her butt. He laughed it off.
                  Beenie hit the stage right after Kartel with the colours of dawn colouring the sky with his trademark ' dem get mi ma-ma-ma-ma-maddd', before seguing neatly into Gunshots inna the Air. He then got a big forward for his new song, Stock and Pile.
                  He then did two Michael Jackson songs as a tribute to the late King of Pop, doing The Girl is Mine and Heal the World, he then did his own microwave version of Kartel's Money of My Mind with the D'angel built-in punch line 'not even D'Angel can talk say she own me' which the crowd loved.
                  However, many fans were disgruntled that they did not receive a more comprehenzie performance from the Doctor given that the performance took place on a day when he was honoured for contributing 30 years to the biz. Vybz Kartel also joined Beenie Man onstage during the performance doing a song called Gaza Mi Say on a hip hop sounding riddim. Beenie also solicited a big up from Kartel with regards to the award he had won earlier.
                  Bounty Killer delivered one of his best performances in recent history, showing his more humane side, cracking jokes and witty one-liners that entertained the huge audience. He told the audience that his "battle scars had taught him a lot of lessons'.
                  "Oonu deal wid me a way last year but is alright, mi is a good yute," he intoned as he attempted to connect with the audience.
                  He then criticised the recent taxes implemented on taxes and salt before doing Pop It off, and then a quick medley with dancehall classics such as Look Into My Eyes, Another Level, Eagle and Hawk and What Else Yu Waan Mi Do.
                  He checked himself once when he attempted to do Kill Off Dem BC, cutting it off quickly with a terse 'it makes no sense' and then got a huge forward for Nutten Nuh Change.
                  He alluded to his recent court cases and various criminal charges with a typical Bounty-ism: 'I are in charge'.
                  He also bussed the place with a statement to the effect that "ah me mek the gully and the gaza, ah me own the bl---th plaza".
                  Bounty Killer's performance appeared to eclipse that of Mavado who started strongly with a barrage of his hits, but faded a little at the end before recovering well with Money Nuff for which he earned a huge roar from the crowd. During his set,
                  Elephant Man was simply brilliant with fire torches stabbing at the sky and fire rockets going off and when he did 'Dancehall Nice Again', it was more than a song, it was a statement of how well the show was going with both Bounty Killer and Mavado bigging up the Gaza fans.
                  Kiprich performed really well but Flippa Mafia, the king of flossing, seemed to take some of his buzz with a confident extravagant performance that included emptying three bottles of Ace of Spades champagne onto the stage. He also threw money in the crowd which had men and women diving onto the ground to grab US dollars.
                  Spice did well, closing strongly with Ramping Shop, D'Angel was super-sexy as she danced on a pole and pulled off the best choreographed set of the night while Lady Saw and Macka Diamond both earned their forwards.

                  Dancehallreggaeweseh.com
                  "Jamaica's future reflects its past, having attained only one per cent annual growth over 30 years whilst neighbours have grown at five per cent." (Article)

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all....chuss mi toni coulda walk an tell di werl seh mi flop cause she would be tacitly admitting that i had the chance!!!

                    beenie coulda struggle likkle more mi grudge him same way!!!

                    Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe. Thomas Paine

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Gamma View Post
                      it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all....chuss mi toni coulda walk an tell di werl seh mi flop cause she would be tacitly admitting that i had the chance!!!

                      beenie coulda struggle likkle more mi grudge him same way!!!
                      ... gimme a chance fi mess wid the Bennieman fan nuh?
                      "Jamaica's future reflects its past, having attained only one per cent annual growth over 30 years whilst neighbours have grown at five per cent." (Article)

                      Comment

                      Working...