Capleton - Michael sloley
By Melville Cooke,
Staff Reporter
Western Bureau
REBEL Salute 2001 did not start as scheduled at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday evening.
It started 15 minutes early.
If Rebel Salute 2001 wasn't the perfectly produced show, it was so close that it didn't matter to the huge throng that stayed to 8:50 a.m. Sunday morning to see Tony Rebel seal his event with If Jah (Is standing By My Side).
The crowd did not thin noticeably after Capleton departed the stage - and the venue - at 4:55 a.m., after a 40-minute set that got the biggest sustained crowd reaction - complete with bonfires on the ground and one in a tree (no, not at the root, in the branches of the tree). In fact, if emcee Ron Muschette had followed the sentiments of the crowd, the Fire Man would probably have blazed till dawn, giving the sun a run for its heat.
And, if Capleton had stuck around until about 8:30 a.m. he would have seen Beenie Man whipping the crowd into a frenzy in a surprise appearance, called up by Anthony B. The duo launched into a sustained alternating-lyrics attack on b.....men and b...cats which had Port Kaiser Sports Club, St. Elizabeth, in a frenzy.
Beenie Man also called for peace with Capleton.
And when the Fire On Rome man declared his intentions on Sodomites, complete with sword - yes, sharp sword - in hand, it was clear that some Damage would be done.
For most of the event, the sports club was a sea of red, green and gold waving, lighter flashing humanity, which deserved Bunny Wailer's accolades for their discipline.
With a very well-received Natural Black rounding off the younger performers, Lady G scored well, giving way to 'earthday man' Tony Rebel.
With Ky-Mani, Mikey General, Luciano, Bunny Wailer, Israel Vibration, Anthony Selassie, Paul Elliot, a sparkling Jah Mason, Everton Blender, Jimmy Riley, an effervescent, sharp-tongued Culture and cool Glen Washington following, leading up to Anthony B, the night's educational entertainment was secure.
There were no eked-out encores. There were no verbose, overdone, hyped introductions. Band changes took a maximum 15 minutes. The flow of performers was maintained to the point where sometimes an artiste's goodbye would blend with the emcee introducing the next act.
Any driver who could not find the venue should not be holding a licence, as the directions were clearly indicated from Gutters. The sound was tight, parking adequate, traffic flow controlled, emcees good, Caveman Hi-Power kicking and high grade in inexhaustible supply.
The venue, complete with vendors booths, portable toilets and a few tents, looked like a major festival ground.
It was not all paradise, however. There was a note about pickpockets in the crowd passed to an emcee and after the show at least one woman - a tourist - was overheard complaining that her pocket had been rifled.
The icing on the cake would have been for the bauxite train, visible on the hillside above the showground, to make one of its many trips while Culture was delivering This Train in the dawning.
But that was a bit much to ask, even for Rebel Salute 2001.
