Elephant Man

Elephant Man is the undisputed Energy God of dancehall, but with all his blinding bling, eccentric and original outfits, catchy tunes, and seemingly natural ability to entertain, he is no match for 'Old Man Sea'.

Elephant Man did a great job of entertaining the crowd at the Magnum Blue Cap Party at Margaritaville Montego Bay last Friday night, and told the crowd that he had been warned that the effects of Hurricane Paloma might affect Montego Bay.

"We badder than storm," was the deejay's response, but after waves came crashing onto the open stage, the show had to end, resulting in an untimely end to the deejay's stint and partygoers entertainment.

A fire alarm caused by damage to wires of the Stone Love set first caused Elephant Man to turn over the microphone to emcee Fancy Cat, who fled the stage as a result of the waves.

About 2:30 a.m., patrons were asked to leave as the floor became covered with water while outside huge waves had many gathered and staring in awe.

By Saturday morning, 16-foot waves crashed onto the Hip Strip covering cars along the thoroughfare and soaking passers-by. Margaritaville, which is also the number one entertainment spot in Montego Bay, has suffered serious damage.

General manager of Island Entertainment Brands establishments on the Hip Strip, Scott Robbins, told The STAR that the damage was estimated at millions. "It's well over a million", said Robbins, "the slide alone is worth US$100,000 and you see the damage to the other areas."

Floorboards were ripped out, railings were broken, at least two plasma televisions were destroyed by waves and other mounted displays were broken.

Despite the damage, Robbins said the establishment should be reopened by Monday.

- Denise Reid