'Heineken House Party' jumped
published: Thursday | August 28, 2003
By Nathelie Taylor, Gleaner Writer 
Above: The reporters of Rap Capone-N-Noriega (a.k.a. CNN) perform at the 'Heineken House Party' last weekend at Grand Lido Braco, Trelawny. Below: Mr. Lex, seated at left, and Wayne Wonder thrill the crowd. - Photos By Nathelie Taylor GRAND LIDO Braco, Trelawny, came alive this past weekend when members of the entertainment industry converged on the property for 'Heineken House Party'. Guests experienced two nights of tightly-packed entertainment under the stars featuring top artistes in reggae and hip hop and the best songs juggled by Stone Love. Of course, this musical magic was also accompanied by the free pampering of one's taste buds 24/7 and liquor flowing as freely as the nearby ocean. For about an hour prior to each concert, (and in between artistes' performances) G-Fuss and DJ Irie from Atlanta kept guests in the party mood. G-Fuss especially got them moving with his dancing and even invented some of his own. With songs like Beenie Man's Dude and Elephant Man's Pon Di River, Pon Di Bank, G-Fuss skilfully demonstrated the 'On-line', 'Propeller', 'Parachute', 'Pon di river' and 'Handcart'. When the crowd got the hang of these basic moves, he produced crazy versions like 'Park di handcart', 'Reverse di handcart', 'Wash di clothes' and even 'Drink di Heineken'. Guests loved it. AFTER-PARTIES Concerts were held at the Au Naturel beach and after-parties one and two took place by the poolside and in the courtyard respectively. Night one's concert saw performances by TOK, Mr. Lex, Wayne Wonder and Nore-N-Capone. TOK, the first act, did quite okay. They performed hits like Chi Chi Man and Gal Dem Way and interacted well with the crowd, especially the ladies. Mr. Lex, who has been absent for a while, almost had just an ordinary performance as he reeled off his old songs. His saving moment however was his song Anyway, Whatever. Nore-N-Capone, the final act, appealed mostly to the American crowd, which sang raucously along to every song he performed. However, it was Wayne Wonder who stole the show. With the notes of a fast-paced track in the background, Wayne erupted on-stage accompanied by his five dancers. He held nothing back as he sang his old favourites, a few from the No Holding Back album and introduced a couple of new ones.  He used the stage well and demonstrated his own dance moves to the delight of his female fans. His act was only rivalled by his collaboration with Nore-N-Capone and Mr. Lex when they performed a group song from the Red Star CD - a collaborative effort between reggae and hip hop artistes.The second night was even more exciting. After a buffet style dinner at Au Naturel, guests experienced five 30-minute performances from Tanto Metro and Devonte, Joe Budden, Damion Marley, 112 and Elephant Man. Each act did remarkably well. Tanto and Devonte worked the crowd with old hits like Everyone Falls In Love while Joe Budden found favour with his American fans. Marley, a.k.a Junior Gong, came on with the sounds of his dad's songs in the background. He did a decent, though short, set, starting with Ghetto Youths, then moving on to other favourites. He added more heat to his act however when big brother Stephen joined him on-stage. The real stars though were 112 and Elephant Man. 112 had the women all to themselves. The true cupids of R&B caressed the ladies with their velvety voices and sexy choreographed dancing. Even the men had to clap appreciatively to their dance routine. However, when Q tore off his shirt and exposed his well-chiselled chest, it was all about the ladies. They screamed, jumped, clapped and almost swooned when he came forward and moved his body in a sinfully seductive manner. THE HEADLINER The headliner for the night though was Elephant Man. A true entertainer, 'Ele' interacted with the crowd through music, speech and dance. Accompanied by his crew, Ele showed off his dance skills and even went into the crowd to dance with his adoring fans. By the end of his set, which included a Spanish-inspired song called Mexican Girl, guests were panting and sweating, yet they still wanted more. However, the 'Energy God' had something else in mind. Instead of keeping them dancing, he touched an emotional chord by asking for 'love for war victims'. He then broke into an acapella rendition of We Are The World, and with hands raised and waving, guests joined in and thus ended the second party on a sombre yet still lovely note.
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