By Leighton Williams, Staff Reporter
Bunny Wailer and Bounty Killa
ROOTS REGGAE stole the spotlight at Dance All Rock 2002 in the early stages of the night when the acts billed for that segment gave the audience something to cheer about all through that period.
From the veterans Bob Andy and Barrington Levy, who seemed to have got better with age, to the more current roots reggae band Morgan Heritage, the singers did a good job in establishing a foundation for the show held at the Goshen Sports Complex in St. Elizabeth last Saturday.
Barrington Levy was the second performer for the night. As always, his performance turned out to be a good one as he gave the crowd several hits. His performance of Broader Than Broadway received huge appreciation from the growing audience.
By the time he was midway through his performance he was in all his element. Too Experienced earned him cheers and it got even louder when Bob Andy, who had performed earlier, joined him for that number. Bob Andy departed after that song but it was only temporarily, as the singer would return when Unchained begun.
The two combined well, with Andy's bass providing the perfect balance to the tenor of Barrington Levy. They touched fists to compliment each other and when they were done the audience was satisfied. Levy then ended his performance with Prison Oval Rock.
Morgan Heritage closed off the roots reggae section and were undisputedly the top performers for the night. The clan opened their 40-minute set with Don't Haffi Dread. The response was overwhelming and the energy continued when Live Up followed. Lighters lit up the venue even more when LMS, who were without their sister Miriam, made a cameo appearance.
The response was just the same for the Heritage's Down By The River as young and old, 'baldhead' and Rasta were enjoying the set. The patrons' satisfaction became even more apparent when Roy 'Gramps' Morgan was asked to do his part in the song a capella. This act was enough to draw screams of delight from the audience.
The lovers' rock segment of their repertoire went over well with the crowd as Always on My Mind and the popular She's Still Loving Me crowned a good performance.
Bunny Wailer was the fourth act for the night. The Wailers legend came on-stage clad in full white with a cape and a felt hat.
The early part of his performance featured songs such as Long Time We Nuh Have No Nice Time and Don Dadda. He paused briefly to comment on the state of dancehall which he said "nuh sweet again" because people no longer went to enjoy themselves but to stand in groups with men on one side and women on the other.
His chastisement of this practice and of homosexuality totally pleased the crowd. When he touched the issue of violence however the shouts became non-existent and there was a hush over the crowd.
His lecture was eventually spurned by a small section of the venue who booed him. He responded with Simmer Down, which saw him skanking and flashing his locks before leaving.
Mr. Vegas, who performed in the singers' segment, needed longer than the eight minutes on-stage to leave a lasting impression. Nevertheless, he was shown some appreciation when he touched his more familiar material such as Sucky Ducky and Go Up.
The dancehall segment saw performances from several of the top acts, most averaging 12 minutes with Bounty Killer and Lady Saw being the exceptions.
Lady Saw closed off her performance by saying she had grown up so her days of being raunchy were fast fading.
Bounty Killer during his set did not 'tongue lash' anyone. He went through his set with huge support and Wayne Marshall's appearance even sent the crowd even further into ecstasy. It became wilder when Bling Dawg joined them on-stage.
See a further report on the show in today's STAR
