THE fifth staging of Bacchanal Fridays could easily be described as the most pulsating and exciting yet.

Set under the theme Vegas Vacation, the hundreds of revellers at the Mas Camp venue got a fiery taste of entertainment from Trinidad and Tobago-based group Imij and Company.

It was approximately midnight when the soca group made made their way onto the stage. Performing at Mas Camp for the seventh year, Imij and Company brought out every ounce of energy the revellers had to give as they performed a combination of new and old soca hits including Wine to the Side, Boring Gal, Move out Di Way among others. The Trinidadian group also paid tribute to Buju Banton by performing the incarcerated reggae icon hits Driver, I Don’t Know Why a collaboration with Wayne Wonder among others.

Throughout their hour-and-a- half stay on stage, lead singer Michelle Xavier and the rest of her soca team had Mas Camp under their command with their up-tempo performance. One particular reveller obviously lost in a Bacchanal trance rolled continuously on the ground while singing along to the pulsating soca lyrics.

Imij and Company is known worldwide for their ‘rock-star soca’ performances. In an interview with the Observer, Xavier noted that they are always excited to be a part of Jamaica’s carnival season and eagerly anticipates the road march later in the season.

“Bacchanal’s crowd support grows yearly and so does the vibe, the energy is marvellous, everything is just right,”

she said.

Prior to Imij’s invasion, DJ Bambino not only provided ‘wicked’ soca and dancehall selections, but gave away several prizes courtesy of the Smirnoff Brand. Acropolis Gaming was also in the mood of giving as three lucky revellers won a combined purse of $55,000.

When the Observer team made their exit at 2:00 am on Saturday, the fifth staging of Bacchanal Fridays, Once upon a Dynasty series was in full force with DJ Bambino playing the crowd’s favourite hits.

Aside from Bacchanal Fridays and Socacise, the 2011 series will continue with Beach J’Ouvert on April 23, Soca at the Sandbar April 27, Bacchanal J’Ouvert on April 29 and the biggest of all, the road march on May 1.

The sponsors of this year’s Bacchanal season include the Jamaica Observer, RJR Communications Group, Digicel, Pure Country, Appleton Rum, Smirnoff, Acropolis Gaming, King Alarm, Fruit Jazz, Supreme Ventures, Securipro and Genesis.

— Simone Morgan