TWO things were clear about the happenings on Thursday’s Dancehall Night at Reggae Sumfest. The first is that the dancehall massive truly love Vybz Kartel, and secondly, artistes are really warming up to what it means to provide audiences with solid performances which translate into great entertainment.

There is something about Vybz Kartel. Having been detained by local police for two weeks, and uncertainty surrounded whether or not he would appear on this year’s festival, he became the most anticipated act on the line-up. Throughout the night it was clear that the majority of the thousands who packed the Catherine Hall venue were there for the Teacha. This became more apparent when at 5:00 am there was still a full park waiting for the arrival and performance of the artiste. So when he appeared on stage wearing an orange jumpsuit and handcuffed, it was clear he was in a no-nonsense mood.

From the opening note he took charge of the Sumfest stage delivering the hits his fans had stood for hours in muddy conditions waiting for. In rapid succession he gave it to the eager fans, his arsenal included Boring Wine, Love Dem, Nuh Let Go, Virginty, Go-go Club, Bicycle, and Wah Yuh Know Bout Me.

Kartel was, of course, accompanied on stage by the members of the Gaza Empire and his high energy, infectious act was punctuated with tracks from Jahvinci, Shawn Storm and Popcaan, the latter with whom Kartel doubled for the popular Clarks.

There was no stopping the man born Adidja Palmer, who was able to claim the night by virture of his solid performance and the reaction and involvement of his loyal fans who only exited the park after he exited the stage.

Though he was the closing act, Kartel only capped what was a night of strong performances.

Among the night’s other big winners were conscious crusader and one of the artistes dubbed a Next Generation act by telecoms giant, Digicel, I-Octane and young act, Khago. Once I-Octane stepped onto the stage at 2:45 am it was clear this was not going to be an ordinary performance by the man from Clarendon. He not only literally caught the venue on fire, as fans lit a huge bonfire in the middle of the muddy green, but was able to lift the spirit of the thousands inside Catherine Hall with his brand of music. This level of excitement was only matched by the huge roars of approval which rang out for Sumfest newcomer Khago. The man who is best known for his hit, Caan Cool, was able to woo his audience with a solid set which brought the Dancehall Night audience to its feet.

In general the artistes on the Dancehall Night line-up seemed to have come to the event with the intention to give their audiencess that little bit extra. Dancehall’s bad gyal Ce’Cile brought on Budget! Twitter, Spectacular! Tanto Blacks, to enhance her set. D’Angel who worked a greatly improved set playfully incorporated Shady Squad dancers into her routine. Ding Dong was not leaving the members of his Ravers Clavers family behind. Stacious had the the audience in stitches as she had a ‘little person’ act out a scene from her hit Come into my Room, much to the delight of Catherine Hall. Hard-hitting deejay Aidonia also showed a softer side when he incorporated singer Aisha Davis for the sultry My Heart is Yours. Energetic Ele (Elephant Man) called on selector-turned deejay and the king of mix-up, Tony Matterhorn to add variety to his set.

However, the most entertaining addition to a set must go to female deejay Spice. She opened her act with a demonstration scene and quickly drew on the riddim for the Gyptian hit, Hold Yuh, taking it to Prime Minister Bruce Golding. Bruce mi waan fi as yuh if the Tivoli duppy dem and haunt yuh, Dis a the hardest time me eva face inna my life… But she did promise an exciting finale and her demand that someone help her get out of her high-high boots was definitely an indication of what was to come.

Once Ruff Kutt band struck up the riddim for her popular slim girl, fluffy girl combinatiion with Pamputtae it was clear, the fireworks was about to begin.

Clad in full black Pamputtae romped onto the stage declaring “Look how mi tick!,” as she slapped her more that ample thighs. Spice then called for the “slimmas dem” and two svelte dancers appeared. Not to be outdone, Pamputtae summoned the “fluffy gal dem” and two fit fluffies ran onto the stage. What was to follow was nearly 10 minutes to feminine rivalry which included the night’s MC, Miss Kitty who is known for defending the women with added pounds. In the ensuing battle the women danced, gyrated, ‘flick’ and did splits. Not even the huge speaker boxes and lighting towers were spared and both fluffies and slim girls battled out to the very end.

The night was also punctuated with tributes and honours. The first came with VoiceMail’s performance. This popular act which is now performing as a duo following the recent shooting death of member O’Neil Edwards, ‘livicated’ their performance to him, opening with I Will Praise His Name, whch featured members of the Kingston College choir. It is clear that O’Neil’s presence as the hype man in the group will be missed, but this will only allow for Kevin and Craig to step up their act.

This year, Summerfest Productions, organisers of the festival, chose to honour deejay Bounty Killer for his contribution to Sumfest and music in general. So the Warlord was feeling honourable and delivered a strong message, attacking some of society’s ills.

His set dragged in parts but this did not phase the deejay who declared that he got his first forward in 1993, and was therefore not looking for any on Thursday night, especially as he was being honoured.

Kudos should go to other acts such as Mavado, Agent Sasco, Konshens, Kiprich, Chino and Tifa, who all greatly enhanced the dancehall night experience with their performance.