kandre'McDonald, Freelance Writer"HEY WHERE IS the music?", "Mi waan a refund!" and chants of "UTech! UTech!" were recurrent around the Students' Union, UWI, Mona Campus, last Friday night.
At about 11:50 p.m. all the sound systems in the venue went dead - well there were only two sound systems, one located on the front dance floor, which was to the immediate right upon entering the venue, and the other to the rear.
Upset patrons
The patrons, most of whom were busy taking advantage of the free Smirnoff Ice that was available until midnight, were now getting upset and at that point 'Taylor Hall Crazy Hype Final Fete - Keepin' It Jiggy' seemed to be in for some really serious problems.
The thought of attending UTech's final fete began to sound appealing, especially as the minutes ticked by and there was not even a 'burp' from the sound system that was only a few moments ago 'belching' out some heart thumping bass.
Most of the patrons got even more uneasy when the free liquor halted. They departed the bar area and now concentrated on cursing the selectors and the promoters.
However this attitude and behaviour disappeared quickly with the winds when the first sound echoed from the speakers. The young audience that was crammed into the Students' Union went berserk, and that was just the beginning of what was to transpire.
When the 'The Party Animal', Kurt Riley, took over selecting duties the mood in the venue took a 180 degree turn. Kurt had the patrons punching the sky and getting on crazy as he reeled of several of Sizzla's more popular songs. The crowd on this dance floor suddenly swelled due to the fact that the first dance floor still had not recovered from the electrical problem.
The selecting competence of Kurt Riley, Razz & Biggy, Delano and Jazzy T from Renaissance, and Arif Cooper was now the only thing that could revive the session that had hit a bump.
Sold out
Entry into the jam packed venue was halted at 1:40 a.m. after there was an announcement that the tickets had sold out. The announcement seemed to be the least of the problems for some of the patrons as a lot of them were looking for somewhere to rest so that they could try and recover for the excessive alcohol intake.
Females that were dressed with nothing left to the imagination, were busy gyrating their waistlines to some of dancehall's hypest tunes, while the men stared lustfully.
At 2:35 a.m. the crowd became a little restless once again, however this time electrical problems were not the perpetrators, the police were. The officers demanded that the session come to an end. The selectors pleaded with the lawmen and managed to strike up a deal. The selectors were given until 3 a.m to cut the music.
A few incidents aside, 'the party was off tha hook'
