Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer
Patrons enjoy the music at 'Stir It Up' party, held at Peppers Nightclub, Upper Waterloo Road, last Saturday. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
While The Gleaner was at 'Stir It Up Thriller', held at Peppers on Upper Waterloo Road, St Andrew, on Saturday night, the microphone was used only three times.
So, as the advertisements promised, it was "more music, legs talk", the many young women who turned out to the retro music party naturally adding flexible waistlines to the mix.
The three deejays, Kurt Riley, Colin Hines and DJ Liquid, playing from an elevated booth facing the entrance to Peppers, took different approaches, all to very good effect. Riley served up short, snappy mixes, changing songs and, to a lesser extent, genres with speed and grace, the women getting an early run with Shabba's Trailer Load and Ting A Ling, Terror Fabulous' Position and the Lady Saw pair of Stab Up De Meat and Fling It Up.
The dancers proved more proficient with waistlines than the retro dance moves of Bogle and Della Move, although some did do the led-snapping dance popularised by Admiral Bailey's song. Riley moved smoothly into soca with Ragga Ragga, one man in an orange shirt sneaking in a 'gully creeper' to the T&T beat. The instruction to "follow my ding ding" was fused into the Jitterbug and Stir It Up lapped up the change in pace. The Gloved Wonder got a look in with Beat It.
Party in overdrive
Riley dropped in the unexpected to screams, R. Kelly's Bump and Grind segueing into Love Me (Just a Little Bit Longer), as clutching couples (some groin to rump fashion) showed that slow songs are not party-poopers.
Riley got the most extended run, sending the party into overdrive with '90s dancehall that included a Beenie Man dubplate, medley style.
The Captain arrived, set up and waited his turn, adjusting his black cap when he took over and the videolight hit. His opening style was dancehall rockers getting somewhat extended play, Barrington Levy's 21 Girl Salute, Beres Hammond's Groovy Little Thing and a Freddie McGregor double settling the stirrers into the I-can-do-this-all-night groove. But when he rolled out Major Mackerel's Shaka Zulu, dropped Shabba's anthemic Love Punaany Bad and laid the anthem of the other side of the sexual coin, Boom Bye Bye on the same rhythm there was pandemonium.
It was sustained when Dr Evil continued the sentiment on the same rhythm.
Poco segment
It was back to the roots rockers of D. Brown's Revolution, the raw dancehall of Red Dragon's Agony and the wonderful, unexpected draws of UB40's Red Red Wine and Bunny Wailer's Ballroom Floor.
Many a young lass 'tun dem roll' on high heels for a poco segment that included Pocomania Day and Hines handed over the party to DJ Liquid in an exchange worthy of an Olympic level baton change after sending Peppers to Funky Town.
Liquid poured the ultra smooth hip hop of the Notorious BIG over 'Stir It Up', taking the house down as the songs were given extended play. Return of the Mack and It's Tha Party led into Spragga's No Way, hip-hop style, and Peppers exploded. One young lass, her heels higher than her shorts were long, created a stir, Liquid going '90s cultural with 'Til Shiloh and Praise Ye Jah. Holding Firm took the house down and, as The Gleaner left, Liquid was making good on his promise to deal with ladies as he started the Joyride at Stir It Up.
