The azure waters of the Caribbean Sea at James Bond Beach, Oracabessa proved to be the perfect backdrop for more fun, more paint and tons more bacchanal revelry at Smirnoff Beach J’ouvert last Saturday April 3.

With soca melodies blaring through speakers courtesy of DJ Smoke of Renaissance, Private Ryan of Miami and DJ Omar C of Sparkles Productions, revellers danced their way into the venue filled with all the amenities a socaphile could want, including, fashionable hats, Hawaiian leis, a foam pit and numerous bars.

Hearing drums pulsating, early patrons gathered by the front of the stage to witness a moving up-tempo African inspired dance by L’Acadco dancers sponsored by Coca Cola. “That was a good performance, and something I didn’t necessarily expect to see here. But I am happy I did,” said Kamieca Reid.

The event got that much better when buckets of paint with the colours red and green came out, much to patrons delight. Many could be seen gathering paint in cups and while taking in the music and dancing, simultaneously smearing their friends with paint…all I good fun. And for those who chose to remain paint free a ‘no paint’ zone was allocated on site for a less colourful but still enjoyable experience.

With the sun having set and revellers resembling life like dancing canvases of art, dancehall crooner Leftside of Tuck In U Belly and Dr Evil fame broke the onstage performance ice and was well received by the crowd.

Next up was dancehall dancer-turned-singer Ding Dong who brought his whole Ravers Clavers crew on stage to perform with him. Singing notable songs such as Skip To Ma Lu and Holiday an initially clean Ding Dong ended his set streaked with paint and loving it.

“I am going to be honest I did not know that a soca crowd would have appreciated me and the Ravers Clavers as much as they did, I guess it just goes to show that no matter the music, from it is good and the vibe is there people will appreciate it. I am now sold on Bacchanal,” said Ding Dong after his set.

Then came the headliners of the night, husband-and-wife soca team Fay-Ann Lyons and Bunji Garlin who were warmly welcomed by the crowd. Getting straight to business, backed by the Asylum Band the two alternated songs with her most notable ones being Heavy T and Super Blue, and his Party Animal and Dance Mus Have. For more than an hour the two kept the venue moving, and even showed the masses that they could also drop rhymes rapper style with quick vocal delivery. They displayed a synergy which confirmed their dominance of the art.

“The Jamaican crowd is always welcoming, but this was my first Beach J’ouvert and with the vibe of the crowd I would do it again,” said Garlin after his performance.