Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:Dancehall star Mavado left an indelible imprint on Reggae Sumfest's Dancehall Night.

Mavado created musical ecstasy at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre in Montego Bay with a dazzling performance, befitting his emerging superstar status.

Hitting centre stage at 5:08 a.m, the relaxed-looking singjay simply took charge, feeding the appreciative fans with hit after hit, to include songs such as So Special, Hope and Pray, Messiah and Nuh Fraid A Dem, which created quite a buzz among the fans.

Initially ending his performance after belting out Nuh Fraid A Dem, the crowd demanded more and he promptly complied with the first of his two encores.

He all but brought the house down; wreaking havoc with General, Don't Cry, Gyal A Mad Ova and One by One, which was done in combination with Morgan Heritage's Laza Morgan.

With the crowd giving him much, a busty female member of the audience decided to join Mavado on the stage and she soon had him fully engaged, delivering an erotic-looking dance on her. Shortly after, the singjay began giving away items of his clothing to the audience. Soon his jacket, his undershirt, shoes and socks were all gone.

Clearly satisfied that he had made his mark, Mavado unleashed his latest hits, Pepper and the thought-provoking Delilah, before again exiting the stage.

second encore

He was again called for a second encore and delivered Me Did Tell Youand Star Boy.

Had the sizzling Mavado not been in such a clinical mood, the night's honours could well have gone to the likes of the compelling I-Octane, an excellent Assassin or the very impressive Khago, who advertised his readiness for the global stage with complete authority.

As is now customary, I-Octane's versatility and charisma were fully reflected in songs like My Life, Lose a Friend and Puff It, which were all well received.

Assassin, who utilised his intelligence and ever-expanding catalogue to good effect, was quite brilliant, especially in his delivery of Nothing At All, Run The Place and Jah Guide and Protect.

Khago was a revelation, as he attacked the big stage with unbelievable authority.

Firecrackers decorated the night skies as appreciative fans reacted with total glee to songs like Cyaa Cool, Struggle, *la*hd A Boil, No Boy and his breakout hit, Nah Sell Me Out Friend Dem.

While the huge crowd, arguably the largest seen at the venue in many years, waited to see Vybz Kartel close the show, one sensed it was more out of curiosity, with his new 'colouring-book appearance', than any anxiety to see him perform. His performance fell flat.

In fact, Beenie Man and Bounty Killer, who both fall squarely in the deejay's dinosaur category, gave stronger performances than he did.

composed

Beenie Man, who shared his set with the likes of Pretty Kitty, Clif-twang 'Canna Cross It' Brown, and American artiste Mya, struggled at times, but with the fans showing him their customary love, he was able to compose himself enough to do justice to his set.

On the contrary, the confident Bounty Killer was robust in his delivery, stamping his class without getting cross, angry or miserable.

The women of the dancehall, to include Spice, Ikaya, Ce'Cile and Tifa, who were expected to seriously challenge the traditional male dominance of dancehall night, did well but were clearly overshadowed.

On another night, maybe Spice, who did two songs with Mya and Tifa, who was delivered onstage gift-wrapped, could well have walked away as star performers.

Among the other acts who made their mark were the likes of Zamunda, the exciting Fambo, a mature and confident-sounding Jah Vinci, the lyrical Kiprich, Konshens and Aidonia, who all managed to excite the crowd during various stages of their performances.

The fans, who came out early, got two special bonus treats in the performances of House of Leeds recording artistes Iyahblazze, who elicited non-stop screams for his songs Rasta and Woman Me Needand Foot Kartel, who continues to use his creativity to make his food-based song hilarious.