Despite the abrupt end brought to 'Dem A Go Tired Fi Si Mi Face' by police officers on Sunday morning, artistes such as Ken Boothe, left, and Bob Andy performed good sets at the James Bond Beach, St. Mary, locale. - File Photos THE 'LONG arm of the law' struck again early on Sunday morning when 'Dem A Go Tired Fi Si Mi Face', an event held in honour of reggae legend Bob Marley, was brought to an untimely end before all the artistes that were billed could perform.
The event was held at James Bond Beach in Oracabessa, St. Mary.
When the event ended at 3:50 a.m., artistes such as Coco Tea, Sizzla and Ninja Man did not get a chance to perform, while others such as George Nooks, Ken Boothe and Culture were forced to cut their sets short.
From early on it was clear that the police were determined to enforce Section 3 of the Noise Abatement Act. They maintained a presence at the venue all night and all the MCs and artistes who were on-stage after 1:00 a.m. kept on mentioning the time constraints.
The abrupt end aside, 'Dem A Go Tired Fi Si Mi Face' was not a bad show. There were good sets from The I-Three, Warrior King, Chuck Fender, Ken Boothe, Culture, George Nooks and Bob Andy.
Warrior King proved to be more than a 'breath of fresh air' and based on the response he got from the James Bond Beach crowd, it was clear they never got tired of seeing his face. His 18-minute set saw him on his knees serenading his empress Makeda with songs such asEmpress So Divine and another cut from his album. Before crooning to her however, he lashed out at the men who he said were 'uncouth'.
"Some brethren don't know how to address the empresses. They use degrading lyrics and derogatory words to address the females and that is not right," he said before calling his 'queen' on-stage.
He would end his set by paying tribute to his newborn son and crowned his quality set with Virtuous Woman.
The I-Three, who were the back-up singers of the late Bob Marley, delivered a tight set. The trio made up of Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt sang a combination of hits from their catalogue as well as that of Marley. With the help of Wailers band member Junior Marvin, they managed to go through some of Bob's popular hits such as Buffalo Soldier and Iron Lion Zion. From their repertoire the popular That's How Strong My Love Is brought the curtains down on a sparkling performance that had some patrons begging for more.
Chuck Fender never finishes a song when he performs but his emotional outbursts in between songs have made him a crowd favourite. Fireworks greeted his entry and with a flag waver accompanying him, he delivered a few lines from Rough Out Deh and the fireworks continued. "Babylon nuh respect poor people bout dem a run we offstage. Seh bun Babylon," he urged as he launched into a new song. He got some support and continued before ending with The Prayer.
Bob Andy had told the audience that he would make them feel better during his performance. That he did. His long list of songs such as Set Me Free, Unchained and Too Experienced were enough to earn consistent approval. His performance of I've Got To Go Back Home had patrons skanking as he wrapped up his set in style.
Ken Boothe's two-song set was short, sweet and spicy with Everything I Own and When I Fall In Love being the efforts delivered.
Culture used his short opportunity to do Jah Jah See Dem A Come and he got a good reception from the audience, especially when he declared "Mi would a bun di place but the rules and regulations deh pon we like big whip."
He would later team up with George Nooks to do Zion Gate.
George Nooks closed the night with hits such as God Is Standing By, Tribal War and My Children.
Other mentionable performances came from Lady G, Terry Linen, Natural Black, Anthony Cruz and Fanton Mojah.
