Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

MC Barrington 'Barry G' Gordon addresses patrons at 'Booyaka', held at Mas Camp, Oxford Road, New Kingston, on Saturday. - photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

The audience was small, but the tunes were huge. The persons singing on the records were dead, but the music was, in the main, lively. A booth which featured, pictures and career synopses of over 30 dead Jamaican singers, deejays, producers and musicians underscored the theme of dead people's music only at 'Booyaka!', held at Mas Camp, New Kingston, on Saturday night, with Barry G and Dionne Matthis doing MC duties.

It was one of those honoured in pictures and words whose music was first up on the turntables, as Killamanjaro pulled 'Booyaka!' out of the station with Joseph 'Culture' Hill's This Train, rub-a-dub style, at close to 11:30 p.m. It was a Culture showcase, Zion Gates and Never Get Weary among the selections, before a switch to Peter Tosh with Johnny B. Goode.

Marley's Talkin' Blues was among the first songs to really hit home. A very active dancer, who utilised the open spaces at Mas Camp all night, knelt on a red handkerchief, hands on the ground and did half-pushups to the beat.

Bringing the house down

The bionic voice of Jacob Miller and Chapter A Day was restarted with a 'booyaka!' from the selector and Jaro closed off with a Garnet Silk special, Silk singing "Jaro, you're one of a kind, you are so divine".

Jack Scorpio stepped up in all his imposing height and affable smile, a white blazer standing out over his black shirt and pants. After Tosh's Creation, Scorpio said "Peter Tosh is a man who sen' a serious message inna de music". With that he drew Oh B...t, which took the house down twice.

"I don't want oonu lock me up, y'know, a de music," Scorpio said. "I gwine play de artis' who mek me tek music serious," he said, and Delroy Wilson duly informed I'm Still Waiting. It was more Delroy, including a sound warning special that "you're riding for a fall", then a string of Dennis Brown, Revolution and Promised Land among the songs that hit home, as two youngsters figured out how to 'Rum Ram' to Sitting and Watching.

Second round

And Scorpio showed his production pedigree by playing cuts that Brown recorded for him on the Friends For Life album. As well as Garnet Silk's Zion in a Vision, informing all "original song, original producer".

With all the sound systems playing through the same system, but from individual consoles, Merritone showed by far the best transition between songs and did by far the least talking, starting out with Cynthia Schloss Love Forever. "Let the music do the talking," LaFayette said, as they moved easily between Marley, Dennis Brown, Delroy Wilson, Slim Smith and Phyllis Dillon, whose Perfidia was especially well received.

Merritone went into an extended run of ska, with Don Drummond up front on trombone, as the female dance duo Earth and Fire dropped legs, closing off with Justin Hinds' Carry Go Bring Come.

In the second round 'Jaro upped the dancehall tempo with a string of Tenor Saw tunes, Barry Brown's Far East getting a huge response. They went for one of their own in Early B and One Wheel and ripped the house with Nicodemus' Boneman Connection then Panhead's African Princess. Dirtsman announced "respect to de gunman dem" and Kilamanjaro closed a big round with a Dennis Brown, Garnet Silk combination which Barry G declared as authentic and requested a copy.

Tenor Saw's mother and sister were presented on what would have been his 40th birthday before Scorpio came again with a Panhead, Hammermouth combination and Glen Richards singing "dem cyan run away, from dem judgement day". "I'm, having fun. I don't know bout you," he said to an audience that did not rouse itself much as he danced away on stage. At the very end Silk's Lionheart' hit home, before Merritone sipped some Java with Agustus Pablo and set the captives free with I-Roy. Merritone slipped into a sweet slow groove with Loving Pauper, Bongo Herman bringing some live singing with Sugar Minnott's DC, among other songs.

Wickedest tracks

From there on it was Killamanjaro to the end, Tosh's Glasshouse and Marley's Buffalo Soldier leading into the Mento of Stanley's Broom Weed Oh. Desmond Dekker's Israelites was lapped up and after a series of Garnet Silk and Tenor Saw dub plates that hit home the selector declared "we a go let out de whole a de duppy dem inna de mornin' ya". Baby Wayne's Mama got the crowd moving and Barry G instructed them to pull "six of the wickedest tracks".

Dirtsman's Hot This Year and Brent Dowe's By The Rivers of Babylon on Bam Bam' rhythm were among the lot that did "done the place", as was required, Killamanjaro carrying 'Booyaka!' home with Amen and Wings of a Dove.

Merritone guest disc jockeys (from left) Mikey Thompson, Patrick LaFayette and Craig Ross are at the tunrtables.