MONTEGO BAY, St James — Veteran deejays reigned supreme during the Reggae Night segment of Live on the Waterfront, staged Saturday night at Pier One.
Seasoned dancehall campaigners Tony Rebel, Brigadier Jerry, Charlie Chaplain, Josie Wales, General Threes, Professor Nuts mesmerised the patrons as they delivered, complete with clean lyrics suitable for the entire family. This had ardent fans, as well as the newly impressed converts, waving, and smiling in a show of appreciation for the stalwarts who blurted out songs laced with social commentary and humour.
Charlie Chaplain, one of the show's promoters, undaunted by the poor turn out, engineered the positive vibes during his stint.
The 'Principal' hit the ground running chanting 'Rescue Me', while at the same time reminding the patrons that "God come first and everything else is secondary".
After revving up the patrons with Naw Tan Yah, Cry Blood and others, he passed the baton to Josie Wales, his longtime sparring partner, a third of the legendary three the hard way.
The Colonel who opened with Rasta If you Will blazed the trail as he jogged the memories of early dancehall enthusiasts with Cowboy Style, Sweet Jamaica and others, before unleashing comical piece titled 'Belt'. But, he had the gathering in stitches as he poked fun at the past dancehall rivalries featuring Beenie Man and Bounty Killer and Mavado and Vybz Kartel before exiting the scene to make way for Brigadier Jerry, the third member of the trio.
The Brigadier who is celebrating 41 years in the business, having started out with Emperor Marcus sound system as a teenager before moving on to Jah Love in 1973, demonstrated the reason for his longevity in the business with renditions of Pain, Jamaica, Jamaica and a medley of songs on the Shank Kai Shek riddimm, among others.
Tony Rebel also gave an awesome performance. The Rebel struck the right notes as he reversed into some of his original pieces such as Fresh Vegetable, Man Fe Know Jah and Sweet Jamaica.
His new song, the topical I can't Recall was well received. But he raised the bar, after he started to show off his singing skills serenading a female photographer after she fell off the stage.
Rebel's performance came between two female acts. It immediately followed the strong performance of Etana who waltzed graciously across the stage as she belted from her arsenal which included August Town, Iration, and I am not Afraid.
Female singjay Queen Ifrica began her strong set with Montego Bay and immediately had her hometown fans eating out of the palm of her hands.
Other outstanding performances came from Hezron, General Threes, Spanner Bonner, Professor Nuts, Iya Blaze, Medikal, Hugo Barrington and Nesbeth.
Singer Tarrus Riley closed the show early Sunday morning.
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