THE OVERWHELMING turnout of patrons on Saturday night at the Mas Camp Village, Oxford Road, St. Andrew, to celebrate the Asylum Nightclub's sixth anniversary was testimony of the popularity of the club.
So loyal were the club's fans that the outside venue chosen to host their celebration was not enough to hold the thousands who showed up. In the pre-dawn hours tickets were reportedly sold out, and people had to be turned back from the venue. Once inside you could see why.
There was hardly space to turn your head once you went through the security posts. From the walkway leading into the camp to the VIP backstage area, everywhere was full. The only sanctuary was inside the Hennesy Palace, a restricted red carpet section with food, drinks, seats and other luxuries. The disadvantage with this sanctuary, however, was that it seemed like a mile from the stage area, where all the action took place. The sound systems all played from there, and all the give-aways were there as well.
FAVOURITES FROM THE 1980S
Stone Love, the Asylum DJs and Renaissance held the fort until almost 4:00 a.m., rocking dancehall musical favourites from the '80s to the present.
The club's management ensured that they took care of the many loyals with some timely give-aways throughout the night. At 12:40 a.m. they gave away $10,000 cash to one lucky patron, and they continued with this at other intervals until 3:00 a.m. Prizes also went to patrons for just being there, as they threw Asylum passes and gifts from sponsors into a scrambling crowd.
These bouts of give-aways kept the show lively and so although the venue was crammed to capacity, patrons did not seem to mind. When the music played they cleverly moved hips and hands in the tiny spaces they were allowed.
The emcee Baby Cham had them eating out of his hands with a few lyrics every now and again, but the night belonged to the raunchy DJ Spice. Coming on stage to perform only two tunes, she sent Mas Camp into a frenzy.
RAW AS EVER
On the 'Coolie Dance' rhythm, Spice sang a song which is too raw to print. 'Christmas a come mi waa mi long john...' it started, and the rest led to the length of a particular male organ being as big as her right hand. For her other hit, she had to beg the crowd to let her continue, as they cried out for her sexually charged lyrics.
To the melody of Beyoncé's Baby Boy tune, she began again:
Baby Boy, yu mash up mi life, yu
no have no quality,
Look how yu mek mi waste mi
time, get the... up offa me
Oh no, yu... was like my
little toe...'
With the ecstatic response she got it would have been hard to top her act, but Captain Barkey and Wickerman also did an entertaining stint which was full of comedy, and left patrons giggling for the five minutes they were on stage.
To put it short, the entertainment provided, the party lighting, the smoke effect, and the crammed crowd made the scene look exactly like inside of a nightclub. The only difference was that it would have to have been a really huge club.
