Capleton in performance at 'Rebel Salute' last Saturday - Carlington Wilmot /Freelance Photographer PORT KAISER in St Elizabeth 'erupted into life' on Saturday night for the 11th staging of the 'Rebel Salute' stage show. This event, however, was hit with a few bumps which threatened to derail the show.
Many patrons had shock blended with disappointment and anger after a stage invasion by dozens of overzealous supporters of Clifton 'Capleton' Bailey and Miguel 'Sizzla Kalonji' Collins.
An army of men trekked into the venue with both deejays, and while the two shared the stage at minutes after 6 a.m., their supporters raided the stage, forcing the promoters to almost end the show in an effort to get them off.
Earlier, police had their hands full at the VIP/Backstage entrance when they were overwhelmed by some passionate supporters of one of the artistes. It threatened to get ugly when the police tried to use force to restrain the huge number of supporters that tried to get in at once. Just after 3 a.m., patrons scampered for cover when in apparent retaliation, some rushed the gates. Some tore down sections of the fence while others nonchalantly lept over it as they all marched inside.
THE SHOW MUST GO ON
When Capleton and Sizzla had performed and left, hundreds of patrons left with them, but the promoters insisted the show had not ended, and then made Rastafarian singer Luciano close the show as planned. That, along with snaring traffic delays and the plethora of expletives from some deejays, which one senior police officer at the venue said may lead to some charges being slapped, were the only drawbacks from an otherwise entertaining show. There were interesting performances from several artistes, among them the 'new and improved' Junior Byles.
Byles gave the crowd nervous moments when he took to the stage and did not immediately appear to be past his history of mental illness. Fidgeting with the microphone, Byles knelt down
on-stage, puffed on a cigarette and seemed focused more on meditating for quite a while rather than singing. Eventually however, after prompts from his musical team, he delivered his best oldies and slowly worked himself into a groovy rhythm.
The venue was jammed with an estimated 25,000 people. The spacious and lush lawns however allowed patrons to spread their best sheets, or in at least one case, a full sized sponge mattress, anywhere they liked while watching the show on one of
several big screens.
Meatless food and non-alcoholic drinks were readily available, but the prices varied sharply. The unaware buyer could easily overspend if not careful. In fairness to the promoters, one could see the police presence put in place to supervise traffic flow. However narrow roads plus general inconsiderate behaviour from some motorists caused a frustrating and bitter journey to the venue. Cars sat idle in lines for hours just trying to get in.
This was the same when the show ended, but after the soothing tones of Luciano ended the show, patrons, it seemed were not in as much of a mad rush to leave, as they were to get there.
Detailed reports on the performances later this week in The Star and The Gleaner.
