Good performances, great vibes at Teensplash
Not even the threat of rain could prevent the crowd from coming out to enjoy themselves at yet another staging of Teensplash, held at the James Bond Beach on Saturday, which had an added bonus — Vybz Kartel and Mavado sharing the same stage following the official end to their feud.
After hitting the stage, both artistes took the opportunity to remind their fans that they were no longer at loggerheads.
“Big up to Adijah Palmer backstage,” shouted Mavado as he went into yet another track for his fans who huddled close to the stage, some women stretching out their hands for him to touch them.
Following an impressive performance from Mavado and a band change it was time for Vybz Kartel who from the get-go seemed very relaxed and in a playful mood as he went through his paces chanting favourites such as Slow Motion, Gal A Whey Mi Do Yuh with Sheba and Teenage Pregnancy with Gaza Kim. He also took time out to ‘big up’ Mavado indicating that it was all about unity in the biz.
The night was not all about Vybz and Mavado as other acts on the bill held their own, while some had the crowd in stitches.
Following a good stint from One Third, Apachie Chief and Sarge delivered a belly-cracking set. You just could not keep a straight face and when they did a Buju Banton crack the crowd went wild, but it was their Mavado and Kartel impersonation that brought the house down; they almost usurped the real deal with their set!
Although G Whizz performed other songs he never really got the full attention of the crowd until he did his signature song Life Soon Sort Out.
The same could not be said for I-Octane who made a connection from the minute he hit the stage. With songs like Stab Vampire and It Hurt Me, he kept the large throng waving away.
Caucasion DJ Nico D gave a short but effective performance, even managing to “chat some patois” during his stint. There was no doubt that for those brief moments on stage he scored big time.
A tame performance from Ras Goudie preceded Jah Vinci who re-energised the crowd once again before making way for Black Queen who failed to sparkle.
Baby Tash, dressed in a sexy shorts outfit, came, saw and conquered before making way for Stacious who also held her own on stage. She also scored big points with her single Domestic Abuse.
Following Black Ryno it was time for Mr Vegas who was in a no-nonsense mood. At one point he had the crowd in “church mode” as he did several gospel numbers before injecting a calypso flavour with Tambourine.
After Mr Vegas’ energetic set it took someone like Lady Saw to follow in his footsteps. Saw was in a teasing mood and her numbers were geared at eliciting laughter and she got that in abundance when she did her own version of This Christmas. Even when she got naughty on stage, she did so with ‘coded lyrics’ which the adults had no problem interpreting.
Closing act for the night was Beenie Man and he is not dubbed the King of Dancehall for nothing. His was a highly charged set and he brought the curtains down on what turned out to be an entertaining night.