THE crowd stood shell-shocked, minutes after 4:00 am when MC Richie B made the announcement that the show had exceeded its two-hour grace limit and was being locked down by the police.

Even after Richie B exited the stage, everyone still waited expectantly even making comments such as: “A joke dis, right”, “Nuh worry, him a go wappy back and introduce Vybz Kartel”, “No man, a one trick”.

No one moved, still looking, waiting to see what was going to come next. The only indication they got that it was no joke was the stage being cleared. Then the anger came. “Mi want back mi money!” one woman exclaimed.

But for the most part the anger was directed at the powers that be who brought a premature halt to the event “A big diss, star. Di man a do something fi give back to him community and dem shut it off. A hope no more event no keep till the sun come up!” uttered from many lips.

Bolt made an attempt to apologise. “People mi caan really do nutting, the police a gwaan a way – just understand.”

Even Vybz Kartel came on stage and uttered two lines… just to let his fans know he was in the venue.

Advertised as a Super Party, there was nothing really super about it. The event got off to an 11:15 pm start, 1 hour 17 minutes from the touted 9:58 pm start.

The line-up flowed in a haphazard fashion with established acts taking the stage then upcoming artistes, dancers, it seemed more like a “who is here take the stage” kind of running.

Mystic kicked things off with her usual high energy and well-co-ordinated dance moves. She worked a perfect set and made way for Marcia Griffiths whose performance might have been more exciting had she been working with a live band.

Young acts Princess Tia and Sophia Squire. They gave good account of themselves. Then it was even more enjoyable vibes from Cherine Anderson, I-Octane and Lymie Murray.

But it was American R&B act The-Dream who really woke up the entire crowd. Patrons huddled closer to the stage as he appeared dressed in a Bob Marley T-shirt and went through his paces with favourites like Radio Killer, Walking On The Moon. He was in for a surprise when he introduced his next song. “I don’t know if you all know this one – My Love, but if you do…”

He didn’t get to finish the statement as the crowd echoed,

“Wi know it, we have BET inna Jamaica!”

G-Whizz gave a short and spicy performance and made way for D-Major. Luckily for him, he called on Christopher Martin who injected some excitement into the set.

When he performed the song Jacket Nuh Fit Mi, he had the crowd in stitches.

Konshens was next with a winning performance and then it was time for another American hip hop artiste, Ludacris. He blended in well and worked the stage like a regular ‘yardie’ doing favourites such as Stand Up (When I Move You Move). He scored high points with his fans when he acknowledged Usain as his new friend and claimed Jamaica as his second home.

Before making his exit, Ludacris gave the crowd a preview of his soon-to-be-released How Low Can You Go, with Mystic putting the steps to the song.

Other acts who graced the stage were Tifa, Voicemail and dance group Shady Squad, before Usain Bolt made his way on stage to do his selector stint.

One word of advice for him:- Stick to the track! The intervals between introducing a new song were too long, plus he lacked the “vibesy chatter” that would fill the long gaps between change. He fell flat in that segment.

But he redeemed himself minutes later when he, along with good friend Wallace Spearmon engaged in a ‘dance off’. His smooth moves could not be challenged by Spearmon, who was a good sport and fumbled his way through, much to the amusement of those watching.

Following good deliveries from Etana and Elephant Man, the show was abruptly ended.