Ten hours, plus. Standing up. It's on, man. It's on.
Donning my white Kangol, along with my white Moshood shirt and simple jeans, I got off at 125th Street and Lexingotn Ave in Manhattan. There, I waited a while for the M35, until someone told me that the X80 also heads to Randalls Island. What she failed to tell me is that it'd be five bucks to get on an express bus. Ha! The driver, who somehow understood the situation, let me in anyway as I was Carifest bound...
...one hour later...
These cats wouldn't allow me to bring my water!! Friggin water!! Now, on the ticket it mentions that no cameras would be allowed. That's cool. But when I got there, it was as if they wanted me to come with nuttin but cash!
"No water, no bottles, no cameras, no umbrellas, no recording devices..."
I stood in front of the bag check area, guzzling down 1/2 a gallon of water before I went into...
the park!?!?!
C'mon, it's bad enough that I couldn't enjoy my water at Carifest. But if you're gonna have the event at Randalls', would it not make sense it were at the Stadium, and not the park!?! I guess not. So, I was gonna stand for several hours with some peeps, and that'd be it. While I situated myself, I met a cab driver who lives near me! We laughed at the fact we could've linked up and it would've been a rap. Also interesting was the fact that the show took a hour and a half to start! Damn flyer said show starts 2PM, and that Elephant Man would be there. Neither of those terms were the case at this year's Carifest. Steve, alongside his mother and sister (who's heading to the University of Pennsylvania; congratulations!!) arrive later, and they were welcomed with the bad news. Together, we head to the stage and get treated to more bad news: our $45 tickets put us far from the stage!
Here is where I give last year's Irie Jamboree credit. I paid my $40, and I was able to get close to the stage to see Shabba Ranks and Luciano play. I got to see their faces, jump and wine with the fans; it felt like a real concert. At Carifest, they split the park into three portions: the stage itself, the VIP area (where the katz that spent $65 to get in, actually get to enjoy the show), and the rest of the park, where the regular folk stood. To see what was going on, we had to rely on their camera crew and two half-functioning videoscreens to the left and right of the stage.
We've got to fix this quick. We got's to get to the front.
"I know. Yo, next time, I'm paying my $65 to get in front, dude."
Nah, man. That ain't the point. It's a matter of principle. I paid my dough to enjoy my show with my own shit, not to buy their shit and be standing so far away from the stage. We fixin this now!
"I'm with you! Let's see if we can upgrade our seats."
Without telling Steve that there are no damn seats, we headed to the ticket section, only to be told that we would have to pay $80 for the up-front section. While Steve may have looked defeated, I was not going down so quickly. We met up with that cabbie again, and he was as pissed as we were. Eventually, we started looking at some females to calm ourselves down. In addition, I surrendered about $10 to buy a vendor's version of pina colada. It wasn't bad, but I needed my ice-cold water to flush it down.
In any event, Steve left me and the cabbie to join his mom and sis to find out their plans. It was around this time that the new acts were performing first. During the third performance, some noise started to build. Next thing I knew, the cabbie was poking me, hinting me to follow him. Next thing I knew, I was at the front of the stage!! Dunno who, when or how, but someone broke one of the security blockades, and a bunch of us got to be fake VIP!! Perhaps it was the realization that only a few people (25-40 I'd say) bought VIP tickets, leaving a huge gap between the stage and the rest of the audience. And that is something they wouldn't want, especially if the event was being taped/televised. By the time I called Steve to let him know the deal, the barrier was reinstated, and Steve was stuck with his family in the regular section, while the crown heights cabbie and I were chillin in VIP!! I offered to go back for him, but he insisted that I stayed where I was so when he was able to go through, there would be a spot for them to chill at.
Furthermore, do you know that the head of Security at the event had the gall to warn us that we'd be thrown out of the park if we didn't return to our side of the area!? We're doing this event a favor by injecting some life into the thing, and these haters are holding us back! Funny thing: the katz at VIP were more cool about us hanging with them than security apparently was!
While waiting at the park part, Steve got to show me his new cell phone, complete with an actual monthly plan, and digital camera! He wanted to test the camera, so we diverted our attention to some sexy single females (SSF, the acronym). The one above caught our eyes first. Normally, a SSF pic wouldn't make it on this post, but something happens to this chick later on in the day. She was one of the many that got caught in the VIP rapture with the cabbie and I. While she was strutting her stuff from the early on, she got restless while at VIP, and decided to eat some jerk chicken. Logically, if you're gonna stand around in the 96 degree sun, you'd better avoid spicy foods, especially if no fluids accompany those foods. But she had to prove her West Indian-ness, and she downed her jerk chicken with relative ease.
Three-four up-and-coming acts later...
They were tossing water at face and bosom. Even the cabbie tried getting her to drink it. Out of respect of sorts, I took an obscure shot of her passing out on the grass due to the heat. Medics and security arrived shortly thereafter to clear the scene. While I knew she'd be okay, I hinted to the cabbie to move through the crowd so security wouldn't be on our necks. This caught the eye of three petitte-looking SSF's, who followed us in our intelligence. I made some new acquaintances, and we all got to enjoy Carifest the way one was meant to: up close, up front, right up in dey!
Here's what I remember of the acts at Carifest:
Vybz Kartel was said to be there. Beenie Man was said to be there. T. O. K. was said to be there. Elephant Man was supposed to be there. Bounty Killer was supposed to be there. Bunji & Supa Chile were supposed to be there. None of the acts mentioned performed. Blah.
Merciless - He was very refreshing. It was nice to see him live again. Played some popular, and not-as-popular-to-me hits. Nothing to write home about, but he was cool.
Murasaki - She was funny. Appeared early on in the show. Not familiar with her, though. But her tunes were a bit catchy.
Kafu Banton - Some knew him. Most didn't. But when he was done, we were looking forward to the main event. I guess he served his purpose, which was that, and helping us refining our spanish skills.
Bascom X - first known popular act there. Very good pop. Very decent performance. Gave us a "Finally, someone we know!" feeling.
Bushman - second known popular act. Fire Bun A Weak Heart was his last number. Good performance.
El Feco, Causion - See Kafu Banton. Add huge Dominican fan base to it. And, this is where I found out that that guy who bopping his head to the Zouk music at Jamboree was there too!!!
I Wayne - Third hugest pop of the night! But, the dude comes in halfway through the show! Being reggae's next big thing, shouldn't he be third to last, or somethin? In any event, his peformance was okay, just okay. I do remember him using the word prostitute many times during his performance. Fans digged it, so did I.
Matisyahu - Ah yes, the Haisidic dub-rocker! At first, we all weren't receptive. Some of them after he left weren't receptive. But his knowledge and ability to dub amazed even me! I definitely would check out his music, just for his dubbing! Good, and interestingly long, performance, even if I'm the only one who thinks so.
...three/four more people pass out. Moments later...
Capleton - Second largest pop of the night! This will be the first time I see Capleton up close, and I loved it! He performed his old/new hits. And he had decent time too. This had to be the second best performance at Carifest as day turned to night.
Jamesy P - When his name was called, everyone was like "Jamesy who??!!" When Nookie Tonight came on, everyone knew who he was. One of those petitte SSFs that was with us got into the song, a little too much IMO. She invited me to join her, in which I enjoyed doing. Nothing more than 5 minute remix of the song as we went through a band change. Best intermission, if it was one.
...too much time taken for band changes. Out of two fashion shows, the last one had the best females. And I mean,
DAMN!!...
Luciano - After seeing him at Jamboree, I have concurred that he was not as strong here as he was at Jamboree. Nonetheless, The Messenger was a welcomed fixture to Carifest. Decent time spent. Decent performance.
...Showtime. Everytime you hear that, you know that everyone you didn't see perform is not performing. The shocking truth revealed. All the stars at at the back of the stage, chilling. At our expense...
Buju Banton - THE HUGEST POP OF THE NIGHT!!! And rightfully so. He brings out all of his old hits, and many of his gay-bashing hits. And you know what, he was the shit. AND WHAT!!??
Brought out Assassin [pictured with Buju above]. Idiot Thing That played. Tuffest and Tra-La-La off the Diwali riddim played. And they played each othe off nicely. Buju gave a great closure. Great performance.
Overall, not all dat, but not too bad.
Rating: 7.5/10
It would've been better if I was able to bring my own water, not have to worry about VIP standing, and if more of the huge acts played, even if only for five minutes. But hey, they have to live in their best interests, right?
Pon Di Replay
Rihanna
From what I heard, Steve's mom & sis left early on in the show, and Steve followed suit right after Buju performed. So, it was me and the cabbie left. We left together, headed in the same direction, and moved at the same speed; yet we still managed to lose each other!! It was funny, yet it was VERY tiring. I walked through the entire parking area in an attempt to find his caravan, but to no avail. So what does a kat who hasn't eaten for the day, and only has $10 left do? I found the walkway to the Triboro Bridge to Manhattan, and walked my ass from Randall's Island back to Lexington and 125th Street; headed to the nearby, and crowded, McDonalds; ordered a six-piece nuggets meal, and ate it on the M103 bus ride to the last stop: Park Row. I didn't get home until 1AM, ankles swollen, back broken. I stayed home all day Monday recouperating. I was that beat.
What happened to the cabbie? He searched the entire park for me! Being that I was the only one with a white Kangol Cap on, I shouldn't be hard to find, right? He left when no one else remained; and as I predicted, the heavy traffic within the area held him back; he didn't get home til 1AM himself!
Lesson learned: trade cell numbers. You never know when you'll need 'em...
We both decided to go to Irie Jamboree this September!! Roy Wilkins Park, 9/04/05. We'll be there.
Whether Steve, Beenie, Barrington Levy, Sanchez, and Junior Gong decide to show up or not, it's totally up to them...