Entertainment

Rise for Sizzla -

By GERMAINE SMITH, Staff Reporter

Sizzla performs at his 'Rise To The Occasion' birthday stage show. - Carlington Wilmot

A SPIRITED MIXTURE of past, present, and future artistes punctuated Sizzla's birthday stage show 'Rise To The Occasion' on Saturday night.

The show, held on the field of the Caymanas Park Race Track in Portmore, drew a crowd which matched the size of several of the country's leading established shows. Sizzla it seems has managed to capture the hearts of more than one generation of Jamaicans in a way that many would envy.

Evidence of this was the scores of artistes, many of whom were not billed to perform, who showed up to pass on their personal greetings to the enigmatic singjay. Their presence, lyrics, and antics inadvertently divided the show into two unannounced segments. The old school and the new.

From the old school there was the smooth, timeless lyrics of Reggae Queen Marcia Griffiths. She led patrons on a slow yet entertaining walk down memory lane with her most popular hits.

Cool transition

The transition period from old school to modern was handled by the effervescent Lovers Rock King, Beres Hammond, plus the mixed beverage man, Cocoa Tea. Armed with hits stretching from now back to two and three decades ago, Beres and Coco Tea are two of those rare artistes who can boast about having two generations worth of solid lyrics.

After Beres brought the show into its modern state, Anthony B then Sizzla took over, and after delivering his set, Sizzla matched lyrics with the present crop of artistes like Bounty Killer, Jagwa, Jigsy King, Predator, Richie Spice, Chuck Fender, among others.

Each generation was represented, although the latter was not to the liking of some patrons. Many complained that just before the show closed, when the deejays all bundled on the stage, that the 'bombrush' for the microphone was unnecessary. Some felt that the deejays could have paid their respects without all trying to deejay at the same time.

For the most part however, the show was entertaining, despite the laborious task it was to actually get inside. The security set-up for the show was air tight, almost hassling in fact. The promoters set up at least three different check points for patrons to pass through before they could see the stage, and security guards held firmly to their instructions about who to let through and who not to.

The only breakdown happened to one side of the stage, where things got heated after a few over enthusiastic fanatics refused to leave when asked by security personnel. Although tempers flared and men got into each others faces, no one went overboard.