BY KESI ASHER, Staff Reporter
Patrons crowd the dance floor at 'Sugar Cane, held at Carlos' Café on Belmont Road last Saturday. - CONTRIBUTED
SUGAR CANE COULD have been sweeter if more people had attended what turned out to be a dancehall bar vibes, but it was just sweet enough.
Sugar Cane was held on Saturday at Carlos' Café on Belmont Road, and in keeping with the theme of the party, the bar area came complete with a sugar cane cart, from which free bags of sugar cane were available.
Though small in number, the crowd made use of their $1,000 ticket, by having an all-night party.
The cane man bobbed his head to the early juggling by Arif Cooper as he remained strategically located by the entrance of the party area. A mixture of 1990s dancehall was spun on the turntables including songs from artistes like T.O.K, Spragga Benz, Tanto Metro and Devonte, Cecile and Beenie Man.
Several patrons started building the vibe from as early as 11:45 p.m., when there was only a handful of people present.
This segment lasted an hour and as more people strolled in, the Caribbean beat changed from dancehall to soca. The carnival- hungry patrons showed they appreciated this by readily gyrating their waistlines.
SUGARY SWEET 'WINE'
Despite the presence of several men, the ladies satisfied themselves with a sensuous display of 'wining,' while others bent down low. It was ladies night on-stage as five women danced up a storm to the calypso beat. Eventually two men joined the women as the number of dancers on the stage fluctuated between three and eight.
At about 1:35 a.m., dancehall music took over the café with the conscious lyrics leading the way. The crowd was jamming to songs like Gentleman's Intoxication, T.O.K's Footprints and Jah Cure's Longing For. By 2:00 a.m., the party was in full swing and the crowd, filled with energy, converted the bar area into a dance floor.
Two girls, however, rented some tiles on the original dance floor as they danced to Macka Diamond's and Black-er's Bun Him, Baby Cham's Ghetto Story and Mr. Vegas and Mr. Lex's Taxi Fare, among other songs. As the night vibed on a small group of people took the onus and practiced some dancehall moves.
Sean Paul's We Be Burnin' got many doing the 'willi bounce' and those who didn't quite catch the move, did what they could. Capleton's Dangerous and Or Wah, Assassin's Idiat Ting, Busy Signal's Step Out and Not Going Down, and Wayne Marshall's Rewind, kept the party going.
By 2:40 a.m., it was back to soca music and the die hard carnival fans who earlier showed the crowd what it meant to wine, took the dance floor once again, and showed their skills. Shortly after, the police arrived, not to shut down the party, but just to enjoy some of what the party had to offer.
SWEET, SWEET 'SUGAR CANE'
Despite the slow start, Sugar Cane was filled with energy, as many made use of the music, company and the free sugar cane.
The event was the first in a series of parties that will be held the last weekend of every month, leading up to Jamaica Carnival 2006.
"It is not supposed to be a soca party or a reggae party. It's supposed to reflect the entire Caribbean as sugar cane is something that all Caribbean island have in common. The idea is for the party to musically represent the different islands," said Nicholas McDavid, promoter of the party.
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