By NATHELIE TAYLOR, STAR WriterIF THE THREAT of rain wasn't enough to keep 'em away, then the presence of cops at 3:15 a.m. surely wasn't going to send patrons packing. At least, not very easily.
Right smack in the middle of T.O.K.'s entertaining set at FAME FM's 'Monster's Ball' Road Party last Saturday, the cops appeared on stage.
Immediately murmurs of 'caan lock off di dance' and other unmentionables echoed throughout the Mas Camp Village, New Kingston venue, even before head honcho Francios, who was obviously ticked off by this development, announced the cops' intentions.
The party didn't end just 'braps so' though. The FAME team pleaded with the cops for a while, lengthening the party's life just a bit longer in the process. But eventually it was to no avail. The compromise came at about 3:30 two more songs then it's lights off.
Not surprisingly, the first song that dropped seemed to be aimed directly at the cops' actions - Elephant Man's gospel-inspired Yu Too Bad Mind. Patrons were in agreement with this selection as they were 'caught up in the spirit', at least the spirit of not leaving just yet. The second selection was the song that Ele mimicked for this latest hit, the rousing gospel tune Hear My Cry Oh Lord and the party vibes simply exploded when it actually should have simmered. Afterall, it was time to go, right?
In true FAME style though, a number of other 'big tunes' were played after their two-song limit was up, making the bitter end a little easier to digest. Sizzla's voice rang out several times through songs like Rise to the Occasion. By this time, patrons realised that the party was really over and began filing out, quite reluctantly of course. Feet shuffled heavily but the unwilling few lingered long enough to dance to these final songs. On leaving, several aggrieved statements were heard. One voice shouted "A eediat ting dat. How dem fi lock off a FAME party?" while another disgruntled FAME fan muttered "Mi waan back mi money."
The party's end was viciously abrupt, but the party itself was exciting. On a night when many would have chosen to curl under the covers and not venture out, FAME went deep into it's bag of tricks to produce a show that was really fun.
The FAME girls were their usual fun-loving selves, prancing and dancing on stage which actually got the crowd riled up even more. Interestingly, The Party Animal's (Kurt Riley) console was caged with the strict instruction 'Do Not Feed The Animal' pasted on. As it turned out it was he, alongside Mix Master Marvin and Arif Cooper, who fed the eager throng a steady and steaming supply of music throughout the night. Retro, soca, dancehall, hip hop and R&B was in great abundance and appreciated by the crowd. FAME femmes Paula-Ann Porter and Simone Clarke also showed their skills on the wheels of steel a little after 2 a.m.
There were also surprise performances from high-riding entertainers, including Macka Diamond, who teased the men into a frenzy with her obscenely short skirt and Wayne Wonder, whose voice poured over the women as smoothly as honey.
Mr. Lex performed with Wayne and got his fair share of 'loving' when he jumped from the stage and was immediately grabbed at by the women behind the yellow rails. They were followed by Tanto Metro and Devonte, Voicemail, Bling Dawg and T.O.K.
