Entertainment

The good and the bad reign at STING

STING'S 20TH BIRTHDAY party was like a bitter and sweet liquid with a horrible after-taste.

The night started out innocently enough, with comical and exciting performances from some artistes, and hardcore expletive laced performances from others. It was a show where the heated crowd acted as judges and jurors for the artistes, and showed any displeasure they had with a flood of both plastic and glass bottles on the stage.

This was not reserved for artistes alone, as during Elephant Man's stint, the spotlight operators in the middle of the venue were inundated from every direction because they did not immediately turn off the lights when he asked them to do so. Despite the ugly end, there were some positives to the show.

Dirty mouth

Child genius Young Phoenix hyped the audience with some racy lyrics which are years ahead of him, while another toddler, Ina, accompanied Chuck Fender and chanted psalms as if she were a seasoned Reggae veteran. When Beenie Man touched the stage after 6 a.m., he brought out two infants under 10 - Kitty Paw and Little Cutie. These two had the confidence of adults five times their ages, and delivered quick pieces to an amused and tolerant crowd.

While this was happening, there were a few patrons who tried to sneak from the general admission section into the VIP area through a tiny hole in the fence close to the ground. One man had got down on his stomach and crawled halfway through this opening when security dogs hungrily rushed over to him, sending him crawling backwards more embarrassed than frightened.

On the outside, Police and security personnel at the entrance were swamped with the thousands of patrons who all wanted to get into the venue at once. Long queues of vehicles stretched from the VIP gates for several metres as everyone tried to get inside. Although the show was scheduled to begin 7 p.m., even at minutes to 2 a.m. people were still arriving in droves to swell the Jamworld venue to an estimated 30,000 strong.

The performances for the event varied from the speedy, to the raunchy, to the violent. The Fifth Element crew stood out as winners for the night as their three artistes received warm welcomes from the blood-thirsty and short-tempered crowd. Anthony Cruz, Richie Spice, and Chuck Fenda were not long, but they engaged the crowd enough to get the firecracker explosions and lighter signals which are known markers of the approval of the audience.

With the tussle between Ninjaman and Vybz Kartel, not much has been said about the other artistes who 'threw word' at each other to the delight of the crowd. Queen Paula led the pack with her scathing attack on Macka Diamond, Ce' Cile, Spice, and Lady G. Gabriel followed the trend when he did a 'correction' to Kiprich and Predator Mad Sick Head No Good, and Kiprich returned later to counteract this as well. After he was through calling Gabriel 'Gay-briel', he brushed Hawkeye as well.

Captain Barky and Wickerman were smooth, quick, and comical but they worked. Da Ville, Wayne Marshall, Bling Dawg, Singer J, Pinchers, Junior Pinchers, Ward 21, and a host more kept it quick and tight due to a line up which advertised over 60 acts.

Generally, the show had the potential to be great, but tripped over its own legs.