One of Kingston's biggest ever stage shows was held on Saturday June 4th 2001 at Mas Camp in Oxford Road, near Half Way Tree. Featuring fifteen top line artists the show had been heavily advertised on radio, television, fence, wall and telephone pole and the arena was packed with thousands of punters. Like most musical events in Jamaica this was an open air event, Mas Camp previously being a car park and latterly, as its name suggests, an assembly point for the fast growing annual Kingston Carnival. At JA$500, or £8 sterling, Reggae Adventure was priced considerably cheaper than the typical Kingston stage show, which often costs twice as much or more. The high cost of entrance usually means that the stage show attracts a more uptown crowd than a regular dance played by a sound system with big name DJs, for which entry will cost JA $200-300, still a lot of money for young downtown Kingstonians.

Promoted by George Nooks, the night kicked off at 9 pm with a warm up selection of records. Current favourite By His Deeds from V.C seems to have become an instant anthem while Beres Hammond's Putting Up Resistance from ten years back also got a thunderous response from the crowd. In Jamaica, it's one of those records to which, when the vocal line is dropped out, the crowd can always be relied upon to sing out the words. Lloyd Parkes' We The People Band took the stage at 9.30 and proceeded to back up all the artists until well after midnight. Kingston's favourite stage show back up band is a seven piece, featuring a crisp horns trio, a keyboards players, two guitarists and a drummer. They played instrumental versions on such venerable rhythms as Real Rock and Fade Away, closing with Lloyd Parkes' vocal rendition of his own Officially hit to great applause.

First artist on stage was new DJ Warrior King, who was succeeded by Bongo Herman resplendent in bright orange and white African robes and cap, opening with a rendition of Alton Ellis' sixties hit Do The Rocksteady. He then played an extended version of his Carpound Drifter on Harry Mudie's Drifter rhythm on his famous repeater and funde drums, with the addition of what looked like a large 'chimmy' or chamber pot for good measure, all the while cutting some nimble steps around the stage for a big man. Jamaican audiences like their artists to work hard for them and Bongo's larger than life personality and general enthusiasm had the crowd in uproar from the outset. Along with Barrington Levy, for me Bongo Herman was the star of the show.

Leroy Sibbles followed, running through such hits as Sweet Talking, Party Time and Feel Like Jumping. Next up was Trinity in glossy pearl grey suit and stingy brim hat, performing such hits as Three Piece Suit before being joined on stage by Ruddy Thomas to reprise their previous collaboration on Joe Gibbs of Loving Pauper. Glen Washington was greeted with massive applause; this man is enormously popular in Jamaica. Consisting of original songs such as Give Jah The Glory and Kindness For Weakness on such foundation rhythms as Fade Away and Ten To One, the audience demanded his return for a well deserved encore.

By now it was after midnight and herb vendors had long been moving through the crowd holding up dried bushy stalks of hi grade sensi. George Nooks, promoter of the show, came on to massive applause, performing hits such as the Paragons' Left With A Broken Heart, the Chi Lites' Homely Girl and getting the largest response for his own tunes like Tribal War and God Is Standing By. Next up was Admiral Tibet followed by Freddie McGregor with the first extended set of the night, featuring such tunes as Africa Here I Come To Be Poor Is A Crime, Let Him Try, Push Comes To Shove, I Was Born A Winner, and concluding with Here I Come in a well received tribute to Dennis Brown.

Next up was Barrington Levy, for me the highlight of the night and for the crowd too, judging from their response. He was the only artist to perform in straight dancehall style from start to finish, kicking off with Teach The Youth and moving through such hits as 21 Girl Salute, Too Experienced, My Woman, Young, Fresh & Green, and Living Dangerously. Perhaps the highlight of a great set was his rendition of Under Mi Sensi complete with glorious a cappella interlude and impossibly extended boomsquiddly, boomdiddly and boomiddly extravaganzas unheard since the golden days of dancehall when Yellowman and Fathead strode the earth.

Gregory Isaacs came on at 1.30 in the morning immaculate in double breasted linen suit and rakish hat, but otherwise delivered rather a lack lustre performance. The only artist on the night who seemed unwilling to work hard for his fans, Gregory disappeared into the wings after running through Soon Forward, You Are My No.1, Extra Classic, and a medley composed of Night Nurse and Secretary and had to be coaxed back by the MC for only the briefest and most reluctant of encores.

Luciano, next on stage, clearly does not share the same tailor as the Cool Ruler. Dressed for a weekend's military maneuvres rather than a night at an uptown hotel bar, Luciano came on in green combat fatigues with the trousers tucked into black combat boots, a military belt and conical coolie style hat and carrying a large red, green and gold flag to the accompaniment of the kette drum. Cultural warrior fe true. After running through such hits as Ulterior Motive and Sweep Over My Soul Luciano then launched into an extended rendition of Peter Tosh's Legalise It, during which time, in conscious homage to one of Peter Tosh's more notorious seventies stage exploits,he lit up an enormous spliff and proceeded to discourse at length on the medicinal properties of the herb. Together with the aforementioned overt ganja vending in the crowd this was the subject of much controversy in the press later in the week with the Commissioner of Police promising a crackdown on the smoking and vending of ganja at forthcoming musical events with the possibility that promoters might be held responsible for such escapades in the future and given massive fines. While George Nooks, promoter of this event, claimed to be unaware of Luciano's macca spliff and indeed of any ganja being bought and enjoyed by music fans. Nevertheless, despite the public herb smoking and the military get up, this was rather a leaden and unexciting performance. I felt the same way about Luciano's performance at Notting Hill carnival two or three years back and, though he consistently turns out brilliant music as a recording artist, I don't think he makes it happen the same way on stage. Perhaps Luciano is one of those reggae artists who needs the strict three minute discipline of the seven inch single.

Just after 3 am, Louie Culture came on stage. Kicking off with Free Africa he then launched into an extended accapella version of A Gunman Do It, before moving on to Ganga Lee, Cut Out That and other hits, to close a reputation-enhancing set. Cocoa Tea came on at 3.40 and quickly engaged with the crowd with a medley-style repertoire of favourites, getting everyone to join in, although personally I was disappointed that in one song he felt the need to substitute every other line of 'Beat down babylon' with 'Beat down battyman'. At least that didn't get any response from the crowd.

Just after 4 am came the headline act that everyone had been hanging on to see, the Fireman himself, Capleton, indisputably the hottest DJ of the last twelve months. His arrival on stage was greeted in appropriate fashion with the biggest sea of uplifted lighters of the night, bonfires of rubbish being lit all over the arena, and his most ardent followers risking their right forearms by igniting aerosol sprays and holding them up as two foot long blowtorches. The performance itself failed to ignite however and before long a sizeable section of the crowd were drifting off to the exit, the great Bunny Wailer among them. Press comment over the next two days confirmed that this was a general consensus. There was certainly no problem with Capleton's work rate and intensity. All the heart and strength that has made his records so exceptional over the last year or two was certainly evident on stage. The problem for me was that Capleton simply failed to connect with his audience, even to the point of looking at them or talking to them, as though in his own private world. Perhaps he's beginning to take himself too seriously as the Prophet and needs to reinvent himself again.

Copyright, Geoff Parker June 2001