By Teino Evans, Staff Reporter
Byron Lee in performance with his band at the Jamaica Carnival show on Saturday night at the bowl in New Kingston. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
IT WAS a great way to kick off the Supreme Ventures carnival season, as many patrons turned out on Saturday night for the first carnival blowout for the year.
The event was staged at the bowl (opposite the Pegasus Hotel) in New Kingston. The venue was ideal for the occasion, as patrons used the vast open area to get
down to some serious whining
and gallivanting.
Upon entering the venue,
patrons were given a number of complimentary items, among them were rags (so that they could wave and carry on) and wristbands that lighted up. With music being
provided by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires and the Peter Phillips Disco, patrons definitely had more than just a sweat, as they were
constantly required to follow the instructions of the bandleaders.
INSTRUCTION
"Now mek mi si everybody move to the left, now run to di right--mad run--" were only a few of the instructions being issued by the leader.
At various intervals, however, patrons were allowed to catch their breath, as there were giveaways from some of the sponsors of the event. A few Cable and Wireless cellular phones were handed out to lucky winners who had the number on their rag called, and there was even a wining contest, where the winner won a trip abroad, courtesy of Air Jamaica. The night also saw other attractions, like the performance of Mr. Lex, who started out well, doing some of his early hits like Betta Can Cook. However, Mr. Lex may have overdone it a bit, as he started to do some of his tunes a capella style, and this apparently, was to the dislike of some patrons. As the crowd started to clap him off stage, Lex tried one last come back, singing Anything Goes, a song he recorded with Wayne Wonder, but this attempt failed, as he did not quite sound like Wayne!
To wrap up the evening, were Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, who threw the soca vibes back into the audience, kicking things off with Tiny Winey. They gave patrons a reminder of why they were still Jamaica's number one soca band. It was as if the event transformed into a vintage carnival, as the band, featuring Keisha of Trinidad, also did a few reggae selections from the '70s and '80s.
The night, however, came to an end at some minutes after 2 a.m, as patrons started to make their way to the exit after a full night of soca 'wining, rag-swirling, jump-up-an-down niceness!'
