As he performed yesterday morning at Reggae Campfire, held at the Windalco Sports Club, Ewarton, St. Catherine, Beenie Man made his agenda for 2008 clear.
Performing ahead of Sizzla, who effectively closed the show, as when he finished there was no music and no announcement, the large crowd that had been waiting for Buju Banton drifting away with many cursing and complaining.
After Anthony B had closed a fiery set in which he had introduced a new song, Satisfaction, with Raid De Barn and Damage among the closing numbers, Beenie Man took the stage to a tremendous welcome.
Opening snatch
After his opening snatches of song, which roused the audience, Beenie Man said, “las year was a very good year. In spite of every ting wha gwaan, it was a good year. Dis year we jus a tell dem sey …” and deejayed “mi come again, fi rip it up an’ mash it up again”, to once more ignite the audience.
A few songs later, he asked for the hands of all the Bounty Killer fans and many went up. “A mi deejay dat,” he said. “When him sey suppen bout me, low him. When me sey suppen bout him low me,” he said, and deejayed “watch it mek me step pon a groun’ god.”
The women squealed as he instructed the men in the lovemaking process, Beenie Man ‘chakkaed’ and tap danced away and asked for permission to do a new song.
The audience listened in as he deejayed “dem form Alliance fi lef mi inna oblivion, me a de Grammy man, gal dem sugar pan. got de mos’ numba one, people dem champion, dem sey mi nearly mad, cause mi wife tek annada man, so wha, me get anadda gal.”
They cheered.
Before, the response to many performers was by and large as cold as the weather, with many a shining reggae light looking dim in the fog, when Campfire went out in the morning light like the large log fire that had blazed at the rear of the field, there was not much to soothe the general anger.
Huge applause
In the earlier going, Queen Ifrica opened to huge applause with Below The Waist. “We naa hype pon de I dem an show off,” she said. Her tribute to “sensimilla” hit home and she was recalled to complete Daddy after doing a single line and leaving. And she expressed her disgust for homosexuals, saying “as a woman a my job dat. A our ting dem a juk juk ova de place.”
Chuck Fender gashed and lit his way into the audience’s good graces, I Swear and Murderer hitting home, then the audience filling in for Cherine Anderson to ask “are you coming over tonight?”, while Turbulence was Notorious and pointed.
Sanchez’ love songs, among them Lonely Don’t Leave Me Alone, hit a mellow groove, Amazing Grace proving a decent closer.
However, many got a generally lukewarm response in the chill, Morgan Heritage working through A Man Is Still a Man, Down By the River and Don’t Haffi Dread. John Holt was rescued by a decent response to Police In Helicopter and Love I Can Feel, the rest of his songs generally getting the stand-and-stare treatment.
QQ stookied and rum rammed mightily, but the audience was not impressed, band changes breaking the flow of an already dragging event, with Macka Diamond’s ‘money o’ being devalued.
Etana sang of her Roots and DeMarco hailed the Fallen Soldiers.
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