The party was rocking and so were the patrons when the best of the '70s '80s and '90s were revived at Mello Vibes old hits party, held at Mas Camp, Oxford Road, New Kingston on Saturday, April 28. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

The mood swung between a mellow groove and a more intense euphoria at Saturday night's 'Mello Vibes', held at Mas Camp, Oxford Road, New Kingston, for the full house of party people.

It was billed as 'Girls Town' and, sure enough, the ladies turned out, many of them on heels that looked too thin for their heft at rest, much less dancing. But dance many of them did, the men enjoying the action through body or eye contact.

On the downside of midnight it was a mellow mood with the Captain Colin Hines, Beres Hammond crooning "she loves me now" and chuckling over the man 'standing in my way'. Papa San had a double in Style a Style and I Will Survive, Pocomania Day getting its 'tun yu roll' dues. Hines played the songs at some length to keep a steady pace and there were yelps as he took Lovindeer's revival down to bring up a jolt of Marcia Griffiths with Electric Boogie. Many remembered the methodical step dance.

Uptempo groove

"Live and you learn!" one woman yelled on 'Reggae Night' before Jimmy Cliff infomed "live and you love", but no one was splitting 'ls' as the uptempo groove continued with Matthew Wilder's Break My Stride. One young lass in abbreviated blue jeans shorts gave the trademark crotch grab of the Gloved Wonder on Wanna Be Starting Something and Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive was met with screams from the inhabitants of Girls Town.

There were cheers for the horns of Tiney Winey and old school soca hit nicely, through All Night Party and the Dollar Wine, the music briefly turning Mas Camp into the 'Ringroad' at the UWI.

DJ Chrome took a different approach just past 1:00 a.m., opening with One Blood to send the hands and tempo higher. It was a snippet of Level the Vibes and Modern Girl, as well as the Dennis Brown pair of Revolution and Here I Come.

The audience sang One Love and Three Little Birds more than Marley did, then it was waistline exercise time. Dun Wife and Slam were among the slew of songs that led up to the second (or third) coming of the Puny rhythm, Terror Fabulous informing the ladies "no tree no grow inna yu face".

Laid-back hip-hop hit with Biggy Smalls heading up to 2:00 a.m., the legs flew to Footloose past the hour and, with the songs being given longer turntable time, it was back to 'yard' tunes, beginning with Dawn Penn's No No No. The Buju pair of Browning and Black Woman hit hard, the latter packing more punch, and it was a run of dancehall through the invitation to 'Dorothy' to take a seat.

Hines turned the beat around with 'Poison' just past 3:00 a.m., to keep the vibes mellow inside Mas Camp, a few heading out, while most of the full house kept the groove.