THE POLICE ensured that the revelling at 'Last Lap' held at Students' Union, University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus came to a halt when they intervened at 3:00 a.m.
'Last Lap' was the final party of UWI Carnival 2003.
At 2:00 a.m. it became clear it would never be an 'until morning mass' for the revellers when the deejay from Peter Phillips' Disco announced that they had been granted an additional hour by the lawmen.
He used the opportunity, however, to play some additional crowd pleasers. However, at 3:00 a.m., the police would grant only one additional song and so patrons strolled out, some obviously having enjoyed themselves.
The fete had looked anything but exciting in the early part of the evening because the venue was empty. However, although not 'jampacked', it eventually received a fair-sized crowd of past and present students.
With very few delays at the bar, the patrons, most strolling in at about midnight, were quickly consuming the alcohol to add to the 'party vibe'.
While for most of the night dancehall and hip-hop music dominated the turntables, soca did play a significant role while the Peter Phillips Disco provided the music. Several soca selections such as Colin Lucas' Dollar Wine and others from the early 1990s had several girls gyrating.
The gyrations got more intense at midnight when the dancehall segment was introduced. It started off first with tracks from the 'Liquid' rhythm. Dancehall seemed to inject a bit more vibes into the audience as several young women who danced by themselves started 'logging on'(the dance move associated with the rhythm).
The deejay then eased into several other dancehall tracks with the foam bubbles released from the machine on top of the Students' Union adding even more to the party atmosphere.
The soca segment returned later but its return would see a drop in the support on the dancefloor especially among the males who stood at the back of the venue, seemingly unconcerned about what was going on.
Peter Coppin, a deejay from Barbados, was introduced at about 1:00 a.m. He continued the dancehall vibe at the soca party, injecting some hip-hop in the process.
He started off his segment with a bang and showed that he had knowledge of how to please a Jamaican crowd. Busta Rhymes' Pass The Courvoisier started off the segment before he went into his box and produced Missy Elliot's Work It and Swizz Beats and Bounty Killer's Guilty.
"All who feel seh Bounty Killer should a get the (Best Reggae Album) Grammy hand in a di air," he said as he restarted the track.
Coppin then moved into the dancehall segment with Elephant Man's Pon Di River, Pon Di Bank. Towards the end of his stint he would play some soca songs as well but it was clear that his impact was greater in the dancehall and hip-hop segments.
Peter Phillips would return at 2:00 a.m. with the announcement that the party had another hour to go. The deejay then delivered some additional dancehall from the early 1990's and several women 'wined' with wild abandon.
He would end the night with Bounty Killer's Fitness.
